Abel Gance’s Napoleon is long (6 hours!) but is for the most part worth it, and in general is pretty spectacular. It’s at its best when dealing with a young Napoleon making his mark (commanding a snowball fight at boarding school, standing up to the British who want to take over Corsica, the Battle of Toulon) and also does a pretty good job of dealing with French Revolution politics. It does misstep quite significantly near the end when taking an hour to deal with Napoleon’s relationship and marriage to a woman who comes across as a complete uncaring bitch, but it makes up for it with the big ‘Triptych’ finale where three screens are projected side by side as Napoleon marches into Rome. A big strength of the film, as is usually the case with the late silent period is the fast paced camera movements and exciting editing, which includes super fast cross cutting, split screens, and ongoing dissolves where up to four images are overlayed. I was also pleased by the tinting used which neatly colour codes scenes and emphasises emotions, and the score by Carl Davis which uses elements of Beethoven and other composers, plus original music, to great effect.
Tag Archives: Films
Best of 2016
This year’s Best Of is more like a bullet point list than a review, but here are the things I liked the most in 2016:
Films:
Your Name
A young adult anime as outlandish as it is beautiful and moving. Clever uses of time travel and fantasy
Love and Friendship
So much wit and sass in this fantastic Jane Austin adaptation
Creed
There is something about boxing on film. But more than that, there is something about the lead performances and the journeys they take the characters on
High Rise
This seems uniquely suited to my tastes. An audacious dystopian JG Ballard adaptation as purveyed by Ben Wheatley and Tom Hiddleston
Julieta
At once epic and personal. As Almodovar as they come
TV:
Stranger Things
The 80s setting, the loveable bunch of kids. A nice combo of sci-fi, D&D, and Spielberg tropes
Albums:
FM-84, Atlas
Super cool retrowave. Listen to Running In The Night
Carly Rae Jepson, Emotion Side B
More 80s nostalgia. A pure homage that sounds like peak Madonna
Svalbard, One Day All This Will End
This was a 2015 album, but hit me in 2016. Fast and heavy, with impressive riffs
Casey, Love is Not Enough
Late 2016 find, Casey were the opening act on Being As An Ocean’s tour. Haunting melodic hardcore
Live Music:
Counterparts, Underworld
A tight, heavy, sweaty set in my favourite basement
Being As An Ocean, Tufnell Park Dome
There’s nothing quite like hanging out with this band and their excellent fans for an intense 50 minute celebration of love, understanding, and hardcore
Chvrches, Royal Albert Hall
Big time pop performance in a big time venue
Comics:
Patsy Walker, A.K.A. Hellcat! / The Unbelievable Gwenpool / Howard the Duck / The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl
Marvel’s oddball characters have really come into their own. Hellcat is the gayest thing Marvel currently puts out; all four are a lot of fun
Lumberjanes
Friendship and monsters at girls summer camp, with a loveable young adult cast
Vision
The critically acclaimed superhero thing of this year. It’s fantastic
Games:
Firewatch / Life is Strange
Two indie narrative experiences that really defined gaming in 2016 for me. Both beautiful in their own ways
Final Fantasy XV
I really ship Promptis. I’m about halfway through this game and it’s just the kind of epic JRPG I was looking for
My favourite things of 2014
It’s that time of the year when I start making lists. Here is some of the pop culture I’ve enjoyed in 2014.
Movies
2014 started wonderfully for film with Only Lovers Left Alive, Her and Inside LLewyn Davis remaining three of my favourite flicks throughout the year.
However, there were two films that massively stood out for me. Those are Richard Linklater’s wonderfully absorbing indie marvel Boyhood, and Hayao Miyazaki absolutely beautiful melancholy animation, The Wind Rises. Both, I feel, have become instant classics.
Meanwhile, Marvel once again proved they’re the studio that knows how to do contemporary blockbusters with Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy. Their main challenger for action movie of the year was the exciting and satisfying Tom Cruise sci-fi film Edge of Tomorrow.
January / February’s Oscar contenders were also solid this year, particularly Dallas Buyers Club and 12 Years A Slave.
Music
This is the year in which I turned Spotify full time, and the number of artists I’ve listened to as a result is both large and varied.
There were two albums that I played more than any other though: Being As An Ocean‘s Dear G-D, an existential post-hardcore riff on faith, fate and relationships, and Body Clocks by Climates, and up and coming British metal/hardcore band with a killer opening track ‘Leaves of Legacy‘.
In terms of pop music, the year really revolved around Chvrches’ electro-indie The Bones of What You Believe and adorable YouTube twink Troye Sivan‘s debut EP TRXYE for me.
I saw some great gigs too, the pinnacle of which was probably country/folk band Old Crow Medicine Show from Nashville, Tennessee putting on one hell of a show in Camden’s beautiful Roundhouse.
Comics
I’m pretty sure my comics collection has tripled in the last year.
My favourite moment was reading the whole of Young Avengers Volume 3: Mic-Drop at the Edge of Time and Space in one sitting when it released in April (I love those characters so much, and Gillen/McKelvie are a great creative team). And then there were those few months where I got really obsessed with Jonathan Hickman’s entire Fantastic Four run from a few years back.
Image were consistently great in 2014, with Saga still going strong, plus Deadly Class and East of West particular favourites.
The BFI London Film Festival 2014
This month marked the 58th occurrence of the BFI London Film Festival and my fourth year in attendance. I love the London Film Festival – it’s a very ‘London’ combination of excellent films and overpriced tickets with a general air of hipster, and I wouldn’t have it any other way (except maybe the ticket prices).
The great thing about LFF compared to other film festivals is a. it’s in the city where I live and b. it takes place after all the other major festivals and therefore acts as a kind of ‘best of’ compilation, capping off the festival season and setting up the awards season. This year I was able to see Cannes Palme d’Or winner Winter Sleep, whilst much talked about films like Brad Pitt flick Fury and angry drumming film Whiplash were also playing. But LFF also presents the chance to see more obscure films, which is something I really appreciate happening in my home town once a year.
The films I saw at the festival are some of the best I’ve seen all year, and they’re the kind of thing that are (unfortunately) unlikely to get any kind of wide release. I found Macondo an insightful and engaging interaction with the inhabitants of a refugee settlement outside Vienna from a child’s point of view, which includes a stunning non-professional cast; The Way He Looks was the most adorable and heart warming story about the developing sexuality of a blind Brazilian teen; and Kelly & Cal was the kind of independent spirited American film I like, about an unconventional relationship with a particularly excellent performance from Juliette Lewis.
On a side note about wide releases, LFF often presents that odd aspect of the film industry (in particular the UK film industry) where films successfully play festivals across the world and then take an age (or fail altogether) to get a general release – and not just the ‘small’ films like the ones mentioned above. It’s absurd that last year’s ‘Surprise Film’ – Wong Kar-Wai’s The Grandmaster (a martial arts film directed by one of the world’s finest filmmakers, with Hong Kong’s most recognisable stars, an international cut overseen by Harvey Weinstein, and two Oscar nominations) is still waiting for a UK release which is now scheduled for this December, 14 months after its LFF debut. The film industry probably needs to make films more accessible, right?
The other great thing about LFF is how it shows off London. There’s a great atmosphere across the West End when it’s going on, with red carpet premieres, directors in attendance of most films, and a feeling of shared experience as hundreds of film fans crowd into the bigger screenings at Vue or Odeon in Leicester Square. But LFF makes the most of London’s smaller venues too. I am increasingly convinced after seeing Kelly & Cal there this year and Drinking Buddies last year that Screen 1 of Hackney Picturehouse is my favourite place to see a film in London. Plus one of my favourite things this year was when I had 45 mins to get from a West End screening to a Hackney screening, adding a kind of thrill to the chase and a city wide scale to the festival.
My only slight annoyance with LFF is the ticketing process. Not having a BFI membership makes it hard to get tickets for the big films, but on the upside I like picking up the left over tickets that go on sale a just before the festival begins and I enjoy scouting out the smaller films. And then there’s the ticket prices – £16 for a regular evening screening is pretty steep and Galas or Imax films go above £20. This definitely limits the number of films I can see, but hey, it’s to be expected from London I guess.
LFF is one of the many reasons I love living in London – having the connection to these kind of events is something that makes this city great.
Films on TV – Xmas Special!
Ok It’s Christmas, and that can only mean one thing: Loads of good films on the telebox. Here’s my (rather long) selection.
Hairspray – So I really need to explain how good this musical is? Very. Saturday (Xmas Eve), Channel 4 7.15pm
My Neighbour Totoro (pictured) – Totoro! Ending the Studio Ghibli Season in style. Saturday (Xmas Eve), Film4 5.15pm
Ashes of Time Redux – What better way to see in Xmas day than with a really confusing art-house kung fu film? (It’s one of my fave movies though). Saturday (Xmas Eve) night, Channel 4 2.10am
Rataouille – The only Pixar film I haven’t seen. Guess I don’t have an excuse now. Sunday (Xmas Day), BBC1 4.50pm
The Fountain – Darren Aranofsky’s bonkers arty trip through a relationship spanning history. Monday (Boxing Day) night, Film4 1.45am
In Burges – An Irish comedy so good, it’s like a fucking fairly tale. Tuesday, Film4 9pm
Son of Ranbow – Brit coming of age film that I probably should have seen by now. Wednesday, BBC3 8pm
Control – Anton Corbijn’s biopic of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis. Friday night/Saturday monring, Film4 1.40am
Films on TV
Last week there were too many films to choose from, this week I struggled to come up with five. But anyway, here are some films on TV worth watching this week:
Halloween – What better way to celebrate Halloween weekend than watching Halloween? Saturday night / Sunday morning, BBC1 12.25am
Batman Returns – My favourite Batman movie as a kid. It doesn’t quite hold up as well as I remember it today, but it’s still full of gothic Tim Burton style and great performances from Danny DeVito, Christopher Walken, Michael Keaton and Michelle Pfeiffer. Tuesday, ITV2 11.45pm
Unforgiven – Clint Eastwood’s 1992 revision of the western about a retired gunslinger taking one last job. Dark, thoughtful, and well directed. Wednesday, ITV4 midnight
The Last King of Scotland – James McAvoy plays a Scottish doctor taken under the wing of Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Forest Whitaker won an Oscar for his performance as the dictator. Thursday, Film4 9pm
Far From Heaven (pictured) – Julianne Moore plays a 1950s housewife who controversially falls for black man whilst her husband is struggling with his sexuality. Made in the style of ’50s melodramas but broaching issues that would have been taboo then, Todd Haynes’ film is pretty good stuff. Friday, Film4 6.55pm
Films on TV
There’s a good choice of classics and world cinema this week on UK TV:
Dances With Wolves – Kevin Costner’s western epic is extremely long, but very worthwhile. It’s a story you’ve seen before – member of an imperialist army is taken in by the local tribe and becomes one of them – but this is far superior to both The Last Samurai and Avatar. Sunday, BBC2 5.25pm
L’Avventura (pictured) – Antonioni’s film is one of those classics of world cinema that’s always mentioned in ‘best films of all time’ type lists. A good opportunity to catch it. Monday night/Tuesday morning, Film4 1.20am & Thursday at 11am
Pedro Almodvar films – Film4 have four of Almodovar’s best on this week. There’s a double bill of All About My Mother and Bad Education on Tuesday, followed by Volver and Talk to Her on Wednesday. I expect a horde of Spanish film experts by the time the week is out. Tuesday & Wednesday, Film4 from 9pm
Heaven Can Wait – I’ve technically already covered more than the usual five films this week, but let’s throw in another classic. A man recounts his life as he attempts to enter hell in this well regarded film from 1943. Friday, Film4 11am
Films on TV
There’s plenty on TV this week with cowboys, samurai and lady killers.
Straw Dogs – A remake of Sam Peckinpah’s ultra-violent thriller is soon to be released. Here’s the controversial original, starring Dustin Hoffman. Saturday night/Sunday monring, Channel4 12.35am
The Ladykillers – This classic Ealing comedy with Alec Guinness gets an outing on Dave, of all channels. Sunday, Dave 1pm
Predator – Hear Arnie shout all the classic lines like “get to the chopper!” and “go on, kill me! Kill me now!” in Predator, one of his best action movies. Sunday, Channel4 10pm
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, and other westerns – Channel4 is showing a week of classic westerns, starting with Butch Cassidy and taking in Shane, The Magnificent Seven (pictured), Rio Grande, and Cheyenne Autumn. All fantastic films, so it’s well worth recording (or watching, if you’re one of those lucky people that don’t have to work in the afternoon) a couple of them. Monday to Friday, Channel4 starting between midday and 1pm
Zatoichi – Takeshi Kitano’s reimagining of the Japanese exploitation hero – a blind samurai – is an exercise in gloriously overblown violence with plenty of wit and some good storytelling thrown in. Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, Film4 1.30am
Films on TV
Some British indie films, one of the best Bonds, and double dose of vampires, it’s this week’s Films on TV:
Exit Through The Gift Shop – Banksy’s Oscar nominated documentary. An admission: I haven’t actually seen it and really should have. Normally I wouldn’t go on about films I haven’t seen, but this is a must see, and now is the perfect opportunity. Saturday, Channel4 9pm
Fishtank – Andrea Arnold’s acclaimed gritty council estate drama. Again I haven’t seen it (there’s a theme here), but I plan to rectify that. Also… FASSBENDER. Sunday, BBC2 & BBCHD 11pm
Let The Right One In (pictured) – A film I have seen. 2009’s a bit hazy now, but this Swedish coming-of-age-vampire-film was my favourite film of the year. It really is stunning. And better than the (nevertheless decent) US remake Let Me In. Monday, Film4 9pm
Twilight – I know right? I’m sooo emo. But I like Twilight and I don’t care who knows. In my opinion it’s a well made fantasy romance, with some decent action scenes that plays to a neglected demographic – teenage girls – and doesn’t patronise them. Wednesday, Channel4 8pm
Casino Royale – Daniel Craig brought a bit of class back to James bond after the laughably bad and increasingly camp Bronholm years. Craig displays vulnerability never seen in the character as Bond learns the ropes of being a superspy, and gets shat-on when it comes to love. Friday, ITV2 9pm
Films on TV this week
2046 (pictured) – Wong Kar-Wai’s follow up to In The Mood For Love. Not quite as good as that film but still beautiful nonetheless. Saturday night/Sunday morning, Film4 1am
Wall-E – Pixar’s best film. A modern animated classic. Monday, BBC1 5pm
Dodgeball – Hilarious underdog sports comedy with Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn. Monday, Channel 4 10pm
Kill Bill Vol 1 – Tarantino’s homage to Asian cinema. A roaring rampage of revenge. Wednesday, BBC3 10pm
X-Men – See where it all began with Brian Singer’s first X-Men movie before you ‘see where it all began’ as prequel X-Men: First Class is released in cinemas. Friday, Film4 9pm