Trilogy Thursday: Toy Story

Hi, everyone. This is the first in a new series of posts. With the help of Max Covill of Impassioned Cinema, we will discuss and review popular trilogies, so you don’t have to. What better way to start than with one of the best reviewed trilogies of all time, Toy Story.

Toy Story

Max: This is the one that started it all. Not just the Toy Story series of course, but Pixar as a studio powerhouse. This was one of the bigger gambles in cinematic history. Without the help of the late Steve Jobs, this movie might’ve never gotten made. The story features a collection of children’s toys and their adventures. While that sounds simple enough, Toy Story deals with a lot of serious undertones. The biggest of which is the feeling of being forgotten. The cowboy toy, Woody, has always been the top toy, but when a new spaceman toy (Buzz Lightyear) comes into the picture he feels inadequate. Toy Story also explores the building friendship between the toys and makes us care for CGI characters like never before. While the animation seems sparse compared to other CGI features of this day, Toy Story remains a classic due to its story and characters, the CGI just ended up being icing on the cake.

Claire: Trilogies: Well, they always say that the best things come in threes. In the case of Pixar’s Toy Story series, I think that old adage is definitely true.

Toy Story was released in 1995, and was followed up four years later with Toy Story 2. The third installment, Toy Story 3, would be released just over 10 years later, in 2010. The key elements stayed the same throughout the trilogy: a group of toys, who come to life whenever a human isn’t in sight, get into trouble and need to work together to get home. Leading the toys is a chirpy cowboy, Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), and a space ranger, Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen).

In Toy Story our heroes experience the terror of the nasty child next door, and how they act and react is pretty much what I would have expected. Though, sadly, toys don’t come to life after we leave the room, the plot in this film seems very natural, and authentic. Toy Story answers that question we’ve all daydreamed about since we were children: what would happen if our toys came to life?

Toy Story, you’re my No 1 in the trilogy, for the simple reason that I was completely sucked into this fantastic world, hook, line and sinker.

Toy Story 2

Max: Toy Story 2 continues with the same cast, but adds what you’d expect from a sequel. More toys are introduced into the picture and Woody is again trying to find his way back to his owner. This particular entry in the franchise has the toys question their longevity. Is it better to be remembered for all time, while giving up the time you still have? Of course in true Pixar fashion this question is presented with humor and charm. Woody and Buzz are joined by a new set of toys based on their universes, whether it be the pretty cowgirl Jessie or the evil Emperor Zerg. Toy Story 2 is the only one that doesn’t quite capture the same wonder that the other movies have in spades.

Claire: Bearing in mind that the Toy Story films are a PG and two Us, I think they all appeal to adults as much as they do to children. This is certainly the case of Toy Story, and its successor. In this film we see Woody try and make his way back home after being stolen by a toy collector. We’re introduced to more characters, including Jessie, Bullseye and Stinky Pete. Toy Story 2 is very different to Toy Story in that the gang is separated, with Woody left on his own with new toys, and in a new surrounding.

This does work, though, as the plot does seem very authentic. Toy collectors certainly exist and while the lengths Buzz and the gang have to go to find Woody are a little OTT, they’re great fun and reveal the power of friendship.

Toy Story 3

Max: Let’s face it, Toy Story 3 had all the makings of a trainwreck. Why would Pixar go back to the Toy Story franchise years later, except to milk the franchise for more money. Thankfully I was woefully wrong. Pixar proved that third movies can be just as good or better than earlier entries. There’s not many series that can stay consistently good through all three movies. Woody, Buzz, and company get donated because their owner is going off to college. Even more toys are introduced and a quest to get back to their owner continues again. The script does an excellent job of keeping the characters real. There’s a real sense of being in that same position and having to donate the toys you’ve loved for all these years. A truly classic film through and through. I never thought it would be my favorite in the franchise.

Claire: A third film wasn’t strictly necessary, and it could have been a flop and one of those ‘they shouldn’t have bothered’ films. Happily, this wasn’t the case. Toy Story 3 wrapped up the story very neatly, and was certainly a bittersweet ending. Andy, like Toy Story‘s original viewers, has gotten older, and doesn’t need his toys anymore. When he goes off to college Woody and co are accidentally donated, and they have to stick together to try and escape from a rather sinister children’s daycare centre. What follows is a wild adventure involving new toys, and an uncertain future…

As with all the its predecessors, Toy Story 3 has a great vocal cast, and Ned Beatty is great as the devious Lots-O. The plot is very fun and certainly tugs on your heart strings in more than one scene. All of this is before you take into account the animation, which is completely spot-on, like with the previous two films. When you compare Toy Story to Toy Story 3, I don’t think it has particularly aged even though they were made 15 years apart – they fit together very well.

Final thoughts

Max: Top to bottom one of the finest trilogies ever made. Where many series have parts that are significantly weaker than the other entries, Pixar has made something truly special with the Toy Story franchise.

Claire: Bravo, Pixar, you’ve made a top rate trilogy that viewers will enjoy for many years to come, and one that I will definitely show my own children in the future.

Full list: Oscar nominations 2012

The nominations for this year’s 84th Academy Awards ceremony were announced this morning from Beverly Hills, California, by Jennifer Lawrence and Academy president Tom Sherak. As with the Golden Globe nominations, it is a close call between Hugo and The Artist - Hugo just has the edge with 11 nominations over The Artist‘s 10.

The award ceremony will take place on Sunday 26th February at the Kodak Theatre in LA. The ceremony will be hosted by Billy Crystal. It will be his ninth time hosting the ceremony.

The full list of nominees is as follows:

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST DIRECTOR
The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants – Alexander Payne
Hugo – Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen
The Tree of Life – Terrence Malick

BEST ACTOR
Demián Bichir – A Better Life
George Clooney – The Descendants
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt – Moneyball

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Nick Nolte – Warrior
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Max von Sydow – Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis – The Help
Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Bérénice Bejo – The Artist
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer – The Help

BEST ANIMATED FILM
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants – Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Hugo – John Logan
The Ides of March – George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball – Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, story by Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Bridget O’Connor and Peter Straughan

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids – Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig
Margin Call – J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen
A Separation – Asghar Farhadi

ART DIRECTION
The Artist – Production design by Laurence Bennett, set decoration by
Robert Gould
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – Production design by Stuart Craig, set decoration by Stephenie McMillan
Hugo – Production design by Dante Ferretti, set decoration by
Francesca Lo Schiavo
Midnight in Paris – Production design by Anne Seibel, set decoration by
Hélène Dubreuil
War Horse – Production design by Rick Carter, set decoration by Lee Sandales

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist – Guillaume Schiffman
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Jeff Cronenweth
Hugo – Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life – Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse – Janusz Kaminski

COSTUME DESIGN
Anonymous – Lisy Christl
The Artist – Mark Bridges
Hugo – Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre – Michael O’Connor
W.E. – Arianne Phillips

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth
Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

BEST FILM EDITING
The Artist – Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants – Kevin Tent
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo – Thelma Schoonmaker
Moneyball – Christopher Tellefsen

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Bullhead – Belgium
Footnote – Israel
In Darkness – Poland
Monsieur Lazhar – Canada
A Separation – Iran

BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs – Martial Corneville, Lynn Johnston and Matthew W. Mungle
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight and Lisa Tomblin
The Iron Lady – Mark Coulier and J. Roy Helland

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Adventures of Tintin – John Williams
The Artist – Ludovic Bource
Hugo – Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Alberto Iglesias
War Horse – John Williams

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
‘Man or Muppet’ – The Muppets, music and lyrics by Bret McKenzie
‘Real in Rio’ – Rio, music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, lyrics by
Siedah Garrett

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Dimanche/Sunday – Patrick Doyon
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore – William Joyce and
Brandon Oldenburg
La Luna – Enrico Casarosa
A Morning Stroll – Grant Orchard and Sue Goffe
Wild Life – Amanda Forbis and Wendy Tilby

BEST LIVE FILM
Pentecost – Peter McDonald and Eimear O’Kane
Raju – Max Zähle and Stefan Gieren
The Shore – Terry George and Oorlagh George
Time Freak – Andrew Bowler and Gigi Causey
Tuba Atlantic – Hallvar Witzø

BEST SOUND EDITING
Drive – Lon Bender and Victor Ray Ennis
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Ren Klyce
Hugo – Philip Stockton and Eugene Gearty
Transformers: Dark of the Moon – Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik Aadahl
War Horse – Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom

BEST SOUND MIXING
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – David Parker, Michael Semanick, Ren Klyce and Bo Persson
Hugo – Tom Fleischman and John Midgley
Moneyball – Deb Adair, Ron Bochar, Dave Giammarco and Ed Novick
Transformers: Dark of the Moon – Greg P. Russell, Gary Summers, Jeffrey J. Haboush and Peter J. Devlin
War Horse – Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson and Stuart Wilson

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – Tim Burke, David Vickery, Greg Butler and John Richardson
Hugo – Rob Legato, Joss Williams, Ben Grossman and Alex Henning
Real Steel – Erik Nash, John Rosengrant, Dan Taylor and Swen Gillberg
Rise of the Planet of the Apes – Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White and Daniel Barrett
Transformers: Dark of the Moon – Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Matthew Butler and John Frazier

[Musical Monday] Blade Runner

Happy Monday, everyone. Today is the 68th birthday of Dutch actor Rutger Hauer. For this week’s edition of Musical Monday I thought I’d take a look at arguably his most famous film, Blade Runner.

Released in 1982 and directed by Ridley Scott, Blade Runner is set in the not too distant future where man has the technology to build replicants, human clones who serve in the colonies outside Earth. Hauer stars alongside Harrison Ford and Daryl Hannah.

The score was composed by Vangelis, and it received a BAFTA nomination at the 1983 awards ceremony. Unfortunately, it lost out to John Williams and E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial. It did take home the BAFTA Award for Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design/Art Direction, though.

Vangelis’ score is very synthy, and echoes the film very well. For me, the standout song from the soundtrack is the love theme, which features British saxophonist Dick Morrissey.

PS. Click here to read my short and snappy Favourites Friday post on Blade Runner. Though I wrote that post in October 2010, Blade Runner remains one of my all-time favourite films.

[Favourites Friday] Aliens

So far this year I have seen two fast-paced action films where there is a leading lady and not a leading man who lets their fists do the talking – my reviews for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Haywire will be up next week.

For today’s edition of Favourites Friday I thought I’d carry on this action leading lady theme with a look at Aliens, starring Sigourney Weaver as the fantastic Ellen Ripley. Weaver portrayed Ripley in 1979′s Alien before reprising her role in all of the Alien sequels: Aliens (1986), Alien 2 (1992) and Alien Resurrection (1997).

I’ve decided to focus on Aliens as, while Ripley does kick ass in each one of the films, it’s Aliens where I think she is particularly fiesty.

VITAL STATISTICS

Aliens (1986)
Directed by James Cameron
Starring Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn and Carrie Henn

IMDb: “The planet from Alien has been colonized, but contact is lost. This time, the rescue team has impressive firepower, but will it be enough?”

WHO IS RIPLEY?

• Ranked No 9 on Empire magazine’s ‘The 100 Greatest Movie Characters‘, Ripley is the main protagonist of the Alien series.
• A human, in Alien she is a warrant officer aboard the Nostromo, a spaceship from planet Thedus returning to Earth.
• In Aliens she is the only survivor of Nostromo, and is rescued and revived after drifting for 57 years in stasis.
• She had a daughter, Amanda Ripley McClaren, who died sometime between Alien and Aliens.
  xx

WHY SHOULD YOU WATCH ALIENS?

In my opinion, Ripley is the ultimate action heroine, and Aliens shows her off at her best. Weaver did a great job in Alien and an even better job in Aliens, which she was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar, in fact.

The main protagonist of the film, Ripley joins a group of marines as they investigate why contact has been lost with LV-426, the now colonized planet from Alien. Hesitant and anxious about revisiting the dangerous creatures that she had encountered 57 years earlier, Ripley only joins the marines after being promised that the group is going to destroy the creatures, not study them.

Bearing in mind that she is with a group of marines, it is Ripley who is the real warrior of the group. She has knowledge of the creatures from her previous encounter with them, and she uses this to great effect. She knows how these creatures work and what to do to defeat them. That isn’t to say that the mission goes smoothly, far from it, in fact.

The only surviving colonist is a young girl who goes by the nickname ‘Newt’. Highly traumatized, Newt stays close to Ripley. Because of Newt, Ripley’s maternal instincts really come into their own and she becomes an incredibly tough, protective surrogate mother towards Newt. It is about Newt that she says to the Queen Alien: “Get away from her, you bitch!”

If you want to watch a movie with a truly kick ass female lead, the Alien series is a fantastic place to start.

Happy birthday, Kevin Costner!

Today – 18th January – is the 57th birthday of Academy Award-winning Kevin Costner.

When I think of the birthday boy, there is always one film that comes to my mind: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. I admit that it isn’t his best film, but it is the first film of his that I can really remember. While it is, to be completely truthful, not that good, I still get a lot of enjoyment from watching it. It was undoubtedly a very popular film upon its release in 1991, recording a worldwide gross of $390,493,908, approx £253,452,267, according to Box Office Mojo.

If you’re not a Prince of Thieves fan that you’ll most probably remember Costner for his Oscar-nominated performance in 1990′s Dances With Wolves. A hugely successful film, both critically and commercially, it has a worldwide gross of $424,208,848 (approx £275,335,139) and took home the following awards:

Academy Awards
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Cinematography
Best Film Editing
Best Music, Original Score
Best Sound
Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium

Golden Globes
Best Director
Best Motion Picture – Drama
Best Screenplay – Motion Picture

It was also heavily nominated at the BAFTAs, although it didn’t take any home. The film’s haul of awards is even more impressive considering it was Costner’s directorial debut. I haven’t seen it for a few years, and it’s about time I had a rewatch.

Costner’s other films include 1987′s The Untouchables, 1992′s The Bodyguard, 1995′s Waterworld and 1997′s The Postman. He will next be seen in Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel as Jonathan Kent, due for release next year.

Full list: BAFTA nominations 2012

The nominations for the Orange British Academy Film Awards 2012 were announced today by actors Daniel Radcliffe and Holliday Grainger at BAFTA’s head office in Piccadilly, London. The Artist leads the pack with 12 nominations while Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is nominated in 11 categories, Hugo has nine nominations, My Week with Marilyn has six nominations and The Help and War Horse are each nominated five times.

The award ceremony will take place on Sunday 12th February at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London. The ceremony will be hosted by Stephen Fry for the first time since 2006. It will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One. Red carpet coverage will be hosted by Edith Bowman on BBC Three.

The full list of nominees is as follows:

BEST FILM
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
My Week With Marilyn
Senna
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
We Need To Talk About Kevin

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Attack The Block – Joe Cornish (Director/Writer)
Black Pond – Will Sharpe (Director/Writer), Tom Kingsley (Director),
Sarah Brocklehurst (Producer)
Coriolanus – Ralph Fiennes (Director)
Submarine – Richard Ayoade (Director/Writer)
Tyrannosaur – Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Incendies
Pina
Potiche
A Separation
The Skin I Live In

DOCUMENTARY
George Harrison: Living In The Material World
Project Nim
Senna

ANIMATED FILM
The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn
Arthur Christmas
Rango

DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive
Martin Scorsese – Hugo
Tomas Alfredson – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Lynne Ramsay – We Need To Talk About Kevin

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig – Bridesmaids
John Michael McDonagh – The Guard
Abi Morgan – The Iron Lady
Woody Allen – Midnight In Paris

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash – The Descendants
Tate Taylor – The Help
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon - The Ides Of March
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin – Moneyball
Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

LEADING ACTOR
Brad Pitt – Moneyball
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
George Clooney – The Descendants
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Michael Fassbender – Shame

LEADING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo – The Artist
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams – My Week with Marilyn
Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin
Viola Davis – The Help

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Jim Broadbent – The Iron Lady
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Ides of March

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Carey Mulligan – Drive
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Judi Dench – My Week with Marilyn
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer – The Help

ORIGINAL MUSIC
The Artist – Ludovic Bource
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
Hugo – Howard Shore
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Alberto Iglesias
War Horse – John Williams

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist – Guillaume Schiffman
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Jeff Cronenweth
Hugo – Robert Richardson
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Hoyte van Hoytema
War Horse – Janusz Kaminski

EDITING
The Artist – Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
Drive – Mat Newman
Hugo – Thelma Schoonmaker
Senna – Gregers Sall, Chris King
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Dino Jonsater

PRODUCTION DESIGN
The Artist – Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
Hugo – Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana MacDonald
War Horse – Rick Carter, Lee Sandales

COSTUME DESIGN
The Artist – Mark Bridges
Hugo – Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre – Michael O’Connor
My Week With Marilyn – Jill Taylor
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – Jacqueline Durran

MAKE UP & HAIR
The Artist – Julie Hewett, Cydney Cornell
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
Hugo – Morag Ross, Jan Archibald
The Iron Lady – Marese Langan
My Week With Marilyn – Jenny Shircore

SOUND
The Artist – Nadine Muse, Gérard Lamps, Michael Krikorian
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – James Mather, Stuart Wilson,
Stuart Hilliker, Mike Dowson, Adam Scrivener
Hugo – Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – John Casali, Howard Bargroff, Doug Cooper,
Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley
War Horse – Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson,
Richard Hymns

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn – Joe Letteri
Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – Tim Burke, John Richardson,
Greg Butler, David Vickery
Hugo – Rob Legato, Ben Grossman, Joss Williams
Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes – Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White
War Horse – Ben Morris, Neil Corbould

SHORT ANIMATION
Abuelas
Bobby Yeah
A Morning Stroll

SHORT FILM
Chalk
Mwansa The Great
Only Sound Remains
Pitch Black Heist
Two And Two

THE ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
Adam Deacon
Chris Hemsworth
Chris O’Dowd
Eddie Redmayne
Tom Hiddleston

[Musical Monday] Fanfare, please

In honour of last night’s Golden Globes Awards ceremony, I thought I’d put the spotlight on some of the film studios that bring us the films we love.

Whenever I hear Fox’s fanfare I get shivers down my spine: I’m where I want to be, in the cinema, and I’m about to be transported to another world. Saying that, I get shivers when I hear Universal’s as well. I’d say that the most iconic main title is either Fox’s or Universal’s, but what do you think?

Make sure you watch Walt Disney’s main title and make your inner child happy. A brilliant, crescendoing fanfare, I associate it with the whole of the Disney family rather than just the films. Disneyland Paris is one of my favourite places on Earth and hearing this always brings back memories of happy holidays there.

20th Century Fox

Universal Pictures

Columbia Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures

Warner Bros Pictures

PS, Paramount’s beautiful snow capped mountain had to make an appearance, even though there is usually no set tune that accompanies it.

Results of the Golden Globes 2012

It was a mixed bag at last night’s 69th Golden Globes Awards ceremony, which was held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. No one film dominated the awards, though The Descendants and The Artist each took home a handful.

The awards honoured the best in film and television for 2011, and celebrity presenters included Colin Firth, Jake Gyllenhaal and Jessica Biel while Ricky Gervais took on main hosting duties.

Morgan Freeman was awarded the Cecil B. DeMille Award, an honorary Golden Globe Award for for “outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment”. Previous honourees include Alfred Hitchcock in 1972, Laurence Olivier in 1983, Dustin Hoffman in 1997 and Harrison Ford in 2002.

The recipients of the film awards were as follows – the full list of winners can be viewed at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s website here.

• Best Picture (Drama) The Descendants
• Best Actor (Drama) George Clooney (The Descendants)
• Best Actress (Drama) Meryl Streep (Iron Lady)
• Best Picture (Musical or Comedy) The Artist
• Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) Jean Dujardin (The Artist)
• Best Actress (Musical or Comedy) Michelle Williams
  (My Week With Marilyn)
• Best Animated Feature Film The Adventures of Tintin
• Best Foreign Language Film A Separation (Iran)
• Best Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer (Beginners)
• Best Supporting Actress Octavia Spencer (The Help)
• Best Director Martin Scorsese (Hugo)
• Best Screenplay Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris)
• Best Original Score Ludovic Bource (The Artist)
• Best Original Song “Masterpiece” (W.E.)

Happy birthday, Orlando Bloom!

Today – 13th January – is the 35th birthday of everyone’s favourite elf, Orlando Bloom. 10 years ago this post would have very much been a love letter to Mr Bloom – I readily admit it that I was quite taken with him in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Nowadays I have moved on to the likes of The Fass, RyGos and Tom Hiddleston. Well, I say I have moved on but I’ll still watch whatever Bloom is in. Maybe…

Bloom shot to fame for his performance as the elf prince Legolas in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the first of which was released 10 years ago. From there he tried his hand as a US soldier in Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down (2001) before returning to blockbusters with the first of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which was released in 2003. He would then go on to star in its sequels, Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End.  

While foremost known for his roles in blockbusters – namely The Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, Troy and Kingdom of Heaven - Bloom has also starred as an Australian outlaw in Ned Kelly, a milkman in The Calcium Kid and a bereaved son searching for meaning in his life in Elizabethtown.

• Bloom will next be seen in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey where he will reprise his role of Legolas.

“No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!”

One of my Christmas presents was the James Bond Ultimate DVD Collector’s Set. While a fan of the super sleuth, I’ve never seen all of the Moore ones or the Lazenby or Dalton editions, which is why I sent my letter off to Father Christmas asking for the box set.

James Bond is a fantastic character: he has the looks, the charm, the gadgets and the skill. Everything about him oozes cool. He took 11th place on Empire magazine’s The 100 Greatest Movie Characters where they listed his finest hour as removing his wetsuit to reveal a tuxedo. That move is very, very smooth, and it’s Jimmy B all over. Underneath those cheesy lines – after electrocuting someone in a bath he remarks that it is ‘shocking’ – there is a trained spy with a license to kill who will go to extreme measures to get his man… or woman.

With Skyfall due to be released in the UK on 26th October it gives me plenty of time to watch all of the 22 films. So far my boyfriend and I have watched the first three: Dr. No, From Russia With Love and Goldfinger. Currently, my order of favourites is Goldfinger, Dr. No with From Russia With Love coming in at No 3.

Here’s my mini reviews on the films…

Dr. No (1962)

THE VITALS
Director: Terence Young
James Bond: Sean Connery
Notable villain(s): Dr. No
Notable Bond girl(s): Honey Ryder

The film that started it all, Dr. No sees James Bond in Jamaica investigating the disappearance of a colleague. Once there he find out about a mysterious scientist based on a secure island where the locals aren’t allowed to go…

The first thing to note is the crazy opening credits – there is about three different songs in the space of a couple of minutes, including a rather jazzy version of ‘Three Blind Mice’. Once you get passed that and the film begins it is all very enjoyable, helped in part by the beautiful scenery of Jamaica.

The plot is straightforward and moves very quickly – it doesn’t deviate, which is something that I’ve come to expect of more recent Bond films. On the casting front Sean Connery was such a great decision: he is Bond. Visually he suits the part and it was fantastic hearing him say those immortal words: “Bond, James Bond.”

★★★★

From Russia With Love (1963)

THE VITALS
Director: Terence Young
James Bond: Sean Connery
Notable vllain(s): Donald Grant, Rosa Kleb, Ernst Blofeld
Notable Bond girl(s): Tanya Romanova

Bond’s second outing takes him to Istanbul, where he must retrieve a Soviet encryption device that was stolen by SPECTRE (SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion).

As I’m sure you can already gather, From Russia With Love has a much more complicated plot than Dr. No – the action, the villains and Bond’s mission have all been taken up a few notches. Bond, however, is still the stylish, smooth spy that we got to know in Dr. No.

While I loved the action in the film - and there certainly is a lot of it! – Dr. No takes the edge for its simplicity. While Dr. No is set against an exotic, beautiful backdrop with flamboyant characters, From Russia With Love is much more grounded with its Cold War setting.

★★★½

Goldfinger (1964)

THE VITALS
Director: Guy Hamilton
James Bond: Sean Connery
Notable vilain(s): Auric Goldfinger
Notable Bond girl(s): Pussy Galore, Jill and Tilly Masterson

The film takes Bond to Switzerland and America on the trail of Auric Goldfinger, a gold magnate who plans on contaminating the Fort Knox gold reserve.

Goldfinger was my favourite Bond film before this blogathon started and, after revisiting Dr. No and From Russia With Love, it still holds that honour. The Bond cocktail that we all known and love has well and truly been established and perfected: a killer theme tune, plenty of action, a scheming villain and a beautiful Bond girl.

Goldfinger, for the time being, remains my favourite villain as well. For the first time Bond really comes face-to-face with the man he’s after. Dr No was absent for most of the time, hidden on his island while the villains in From Russia With Love remain anonymous until the final scenes – we, the audience, know who they are but Bond doesn’t. Goldfinger, with his larger-than-life personality and distain for losing, is the perfect baddie. He also has that fantastic line when asked by Bond whether he expects him to talk: “No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die!”

★★★★★