Yesterday The Artist star Bérénice Bejo opened the 65th Cannes Film Festival with the screening of Wes Anderson Moonrise Kingdom. Her speech was followed by a rendition of Elton John’s Candle in the Wind by The Gossip lead singer Beth Ditto. This was to pay tribute to Marilyn Monroe (above) which features on this year poster.
Moonrise Kingdom has been selected for the Competition category. Written and directed by Wes Anderson, Moonrise Kingdom is a coming of age tale that will appeal to all generations. It focuses on the love story of two 12 year olds that make a pact to runaway into the wilderness together, as the ultimate expression of their love. This New England town is turned upside down trying to find them during a vicious storm. This quirky tale has had everyone buzzing over the twittersphere, but I suspect people are just excited because it is the opening of Cannes.
With the likes of Edward Norton, Tilda Swindon, Bruce Willis amongst other high profile names featured, I guess there are high expectations for this film.
Wes Anderson’s works include The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, The Darjeeling Limited, Fantastic Mr Fox and many more. So I have no doubt Anderson will deliver adventure, mystery and a lot of laughs.
Talk about keeping it in the family. Cannes has included in their selection David Cronenberg and son Brandon Cronenberg’s films to compete in this years festival. Although Brandon’s first feature Antiviral is in the Un Certain Regard category and David’s Cosmopolis in the main Competition category, I’m sure there must be some pressure to live up to the Cronenberg name in film. Father David has had a career spanning at least five decades, with successes including The Fly, A History of Violence and more recently A Dangerous Method. It is not unusual that Brandon has chosen to follow his fathers footsteps, since his sisters, aunty and cousin all have dabbled in the film industry in various crafts.
Antiviral is essentially a social commentary on the idolatrous relationship the public have with celebrities.
“Syd March is an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans. Biological communion – for a price. Syd also supplies illegal samples of these viruses to piracy groups, smuggling them from the clinic in his own body. When he becomes infected with the disease that kills super sensation Hannah Geist, Syd becomes a target for collectors and rabid fans. He must unravel the mystery surrounding her death before he suffers the same fate.” – Rhombus Media
Brandon Cronenberg has not released a trailer for Antiviral, so although the synopsis could seem quite intriguing, it is hard to tell if this plot will translate into a credible film or fall into the amateur film student kind.
At the top of the family tree things look promising for Cosmopolis, starring Robert Pattinson, heart-throb to some, not so much to others. To be honest, the premise of Cosmopolis is a bit vague, especially from the trailer. What we do know is that it’s about a 28-year-old billionaire asset manager, Eric Packer (Pattinson), that rides through a futuristic city of some sorts in a stretch limo. The story is about his day devolving into a strange journey in which characters in his life attempt to tear his world apart. Cosmopolis is said to be questioning the resistant against a future world in this new millennium. That’s some deep stuff. But does D.Cronenberg manage to pull this off without losing the message in the violence depicted in the trailer, because it could easily be conveyed as just another action film.
Good luck to the Cronenberg clan and here is the trailer for Cosmopolis for you to decipher.
The Chair is a beautifully captured story about a small community under attack by a fatal mould infestation. A young boy’s mother is consumed by it. Her house is emptied and her possessions are taken to the local dump. His mother’s chair remains there, even though rubbish collectors take away all of the other rubbish. The young boy explores the significance of this and his mother’s death in a poetic contemplative way, which contrasts the subtle panic of the town.
Director Grainger David has had The Chair compared to Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life aesthetically, but I feel that The Chair would be more successful in holding the audiences focus. David is an NYU graduate with The Chair being his final year thesis film. Already been awarded the Short Film Jury Award at this years SXSW festival I suspect great things are to come at Cannes for The Chair and David.
The Chair has been selected in the Short Film Competition at Cannes Film Festival, with the winner taking away the prestigious Palme D’Or.
I don’t know about other film enthusiasts but I like to watch a range of films including outright cheesy chick flicks that ‘real’ film lovers tend to snub. Even though many chick flicks are ridiculous my film choices are based on my mood, and when I decided to see The Lucky One I was in the mood to be fed romantic lies and perve on Zac Efron. The Lucky One is another Nicholas Sparks adaptation (writer of The Notebook and A Walk to Remember). So those of you that have seen either will know that although very cliché and squirmy, they can be quite moving and be any ‘serious’ film enthusiasts guilty pleasure.
The Lucky One is a story about Logan (Efron), a Marine that returns from Iraq by the skin of his teeth back to the states. After an attack he stumbles upon a picture of a woman, which he admires for a second and then his unit is attacked at that moment. He continues to survive many attacks after this, which leads him to believe that this picture is his lucky charm, so when he heads back to the states he searches for the woman to thank her. Cheesy right? Well he does find her, ends up working for her and withholds the truth about why he came to see her in the first place. Taylor Shilling plays Beth, the woman in the picture. She is a fun-loving mother, granddaughter and divorcee. The romance between the two is inevitable from the moment he found the picture, because it was obvious that there wouldn’t be any shocking twist. All the sneaky looks, reluctant flirting, and Logan bonding with her kid, was a recipe for a romantic bore fest. The pathetic part of me could not help but crack a helpless smile at all sweet shiny parts of the growth of love and overcoming obstacles like a pointless ex-husband. The other part was screaming out “Why are you watching this hollywood manufactured myth?” But to be honest you just got to get it out of your system. It was like an itch that needed scratching. Unfortunately it was for longer than necessary and it has left me wounded.
I feel bad saying this, but Zac Efron’s melting eyes could not even make this into a provoking film. His two-dimensional acting did not up the credibility of this romantic story, like how Ryan Gosling’s stoicism did in the Notebook or Mandy Moore’s super good girl act did in A Walk to Remember. Efron getting into character consisted of his straightened stance like a marine type, and the broody look on his face when things get serious. And that was where it began and ended. A bit disappointed as I feel he could do better. I really liked him in 17 Again and Me and Orson Welles.
The Lucky One is a sweet film, sugar-coated with fast romance and lies that a handsome marine with no friends or a life post war will come knocking on your door and immerse himself in your life . It’s one of those films that you keep say to yourself ‘Really?’ or sarcastically ‘Sure’, well only if you’ve not been totally hypnotised by Zac Efron’s smouldering eyes. Or maybe I’m just being cynical.
DS RATED: 5.5/10
The Lucky One
Release Year: 2012
Countries: US, Rest of the World
Cert: 12A
Runtime: 101 mins
Director: Scott Hicks
Amar is a docu-short film about an Indian boy called Amar. At aged 14 he is striving a lot harder than most 14 year olds I’ve come across on the cold streets of London. Working two jobs, as well as being at the top of his class, it shows that anything is possible. Filmmaker Ivan Kander encompasses within this short the beauty of how lack can lead to growth in more significant aspects of life, like understanding the importance of putting family first, even before your own needs. Living in a developed westernised city like London, we are all striving in our own way. But sometimes it’s easy to forget those close to you in the midst of our own financial/personal/spiritual/etc augmentation. I don’t know if Kander was intent on provoking the audience of his film to feel small or even slower than Amar, but it did in me somehow. Although I have worked two jobs at once (actually it was three) whilst at University, it was essentially to feed my own consumer desires and not to feed the mouths of my parents and siblings.
Amar is beautifully shot and Kander manages to make the subjects of this film not show their awareness of the camera pointing in their face. Kander skilfully demonstrates that there is beauty in everyone’s story no matter the place or roots you sprouted from.
So this week i’ve had the rare opportunity to catch up on TV shows i’ve been missing out on, and on top of the ‘To Watch’ list was Homeland. Not being hugely into investigative dramas I was a bit skeptical about investing time to watch it. Also I thought the war hero theme had been done a trillion times. So my decision to watch homeland was purely on the fact that it was winning awards, which is not always the best thing to go by, and that I actually like both lead actors, Claire Danes and Damian Lewis.
Not to give away the whole plot to those missing out, but Sergeant Brody (Lewis) returns from Iraq, after eight years of being pronounced missing, to his wife and children. He is declared a war hero and has no qualms about living up to his public persona. CIA officer Carrie Mathison (Danes) has her eye on him and is led to believe that whilst captured in Iraq he has been converted into a terrorist and is planning an attack on the US.
There are many plot twists and turns, the first one being that Carrie is bipolar and this has been kept from the CIA as she will be dismissed instantly if known. Being devoted to her job, for Carrie dismissal is not an option. Carrie, sleeps, drinks and makes love to her job in every sense. Throughout the first few episodes Carrie and Sergeant Brody do not come into any physical contact and when they do, around episode five, let’s just say the drama is notched up a level. The tension from Carries’ part is addressed in a way that some viewers may have seen coming.
Homeland is very much character lead, which I feel sustains a long running series as we are invested in what will happen next to them. But it is evident that Danes, Lewis, Mandy Patinkin (who plays Saul, Carrie’s reluctant partner) and occasionally David Harewood (Carrie’s Boss) are the actors carrying the series along on their shoulders. It seems as if the other character’s remuneration is limiting their acting capability. Morena Baccarin plays Sergeant Brody’s wife Jessica and her character comes with her own sub-story. But I think she’s not invested in this story herself, causing her to maintain a smirky ‘i’m innocent’ expression on her face, no matter whether she’s angry, sad, happy, cheeky, it’s all the same. Which I think is a shame as the story she is given could have allowed her to be a great supporting actress.
I am now on episode seven and the conclusion of that episode was a shocker, and could lead foolish ones to believe that the main storyline has been resolved. But there is still five more episodes of season one to go (yes there is a season two), so I predict that episode eight will deliver another shocking twist at the end.
Get watching Homeland if you enjoy, high tension, reasonable amount of violence, subtle plot lines, Damian Lewis and occasional random sex.
This is Jake Gyllenhaal playing a detached cold blooded slaughterer, ploughing his way through hipster types in an artsy scene for The Shoes short film style music video. Apart from Gyllenhaal looking slyly hot, I also think the pace and erratic nature of the video struck a chord with me. Especially today.
I LOVE reading. And every spare minute I get I would love to cozy up with a good read. Last year I managed to get through roughly 20 books. Wuthering Heights – Eat Pray Love – The Hobbit – Revolutionary Road (2nd time) – Never Let Me Go – Little Children – Cider with Rosie – Freedom, J Franzen – The particular sadness of lemon cake (dead) – The Road – Easter Parade – Far from the Madding Crowd – Persuasion (well half of it) – plus tonnes of screenwriting books. Okay I guess it wasn’t 20, but it still beats my 2010 record, which was likely to be around 5 or 6. So you get the picture, I like to read. It can be to the extent i’ll rather pick up a book and hear the words fall off a page, rather than words fall out of certain people’s mouths. So when a book comes along and halts the flow of my reading ritual I get annoyed, especially as I’m the one that wants to know what happens in the end. Once I’ve got through the first chapter there’s no going back. Same with films. 20 minutes in and I have to stay committed. Unless I fall asleep.
2012 book count = 0
Cause = Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Remains of the Day.
I know some people will be outraged by this, dumbfounded that I didn’t love this. It is on a lot of must read lists. The film adaptation was Oscar nominated and so forth. But I tell you, no one is more outraged than myself. My reasons are that I don’t often read more than one novel from an author, and Kazuo Ishiguro was one author I felt compelled to read another one of his novels. As I mentioned before I read Never let me go, which was also by Ishiguro, and I was engrossed in it. I enjoyed how the tone of the book was very simple, yet pensive and had a tinge of sadness about. It moved me. It surprised me. And I love it when anything does that to me. N.B. Please read the book before watching the film starring Carey Mulligan and Co. Yes it is one of those cases where the film does not live up to the book, although it isn’t terrible. But mainly it fails to convey all the best bits about the novel.
So I was expecting the same with The remains of the day. I started reading it in January; we are now in March, and I’m still stuck on the second chapter. All I know of the book is that a subservient butler is released to go on a road trip. Well something along those lines. He starts to analyse the how the butler/ servant community rate each other, which I suppose was to give us a sense of the community/place he comes from. But to me it sounds highly dull. And unfortunately because I expected so much from this novel, the energy to push through the dull bits has disappeared and I can’t seem to find it. I can’t believe it has halted all reading for 2012. I know I could have put it down and moved on, but yes there is a tinge of hope that this is going to be a good read. So every 5 -10 days I pick the book up again, re-read the same 3 pages again and put it down, again. That is my new ritual. It goes everywhere with me, like a nagging dog, and I’ve succeeded in ignoring it so far. But now I’ve realised it’s getting in the way of plenty more amazing reads.
From the moment someone asks “What are you reading?” and you are lost for words since you’ve completely forgotten the name of the book, looking like you lied about reading something, it’s time to divide or conquer.
So I’ve decided to Conquer! (or Divide). Actually i’m still making my mind up. But if I conquer I give myself till this time next week to write a full review on it. If I divide there’s no going back. Unless I decide it is necessary to read it in the distant future.
So it’s time to decide and continue my flow of reading along the mountain of books I have waiting for me.
I’ll keep you posted on the outcome via twitter if I divide, or via here in the form of a review if I conquer.
Just joined Tumblr. But not to worry will still be writing on this blog. It’s just another way to communicate right?
I will have plenty of my own pictures of randomness on there, plus any I stumble across on the world wide web.
You can get there by clicking the TUMBLR button on the Menu at the top of the page, or by typing http://developedsociety.tumblr.com/ in the address bar. Whatever works best for you.
Yes I’m aware 2012 started 49 days ago, but as ‘they’ say, it’s better late than never. And same goes to going AWOL from this blog. Since the last post all the way back in August I have been a busy bee (I know lame excuse right), interning/working, writing an uncompleted screenplay, taking a 2 month leave to spend time in Ghana and of course watching loads of films, old and new.
But now I have returned to Developed Society and I intend to be doing more reviews as there are so many great films that will be screening in 2012, from A Dangerous Method to The Hobbit, and not forgetting The Dark Knight Rises. Coming to think about it, maybe my reviews stopped due to my annoyance over massacring the adaptation of David Nicholls One Day. I didn’t feel I could vent in words how much I was enraged by this. My fellow film buff Sandy from Sandysayssmile put’s it down to the screenplay by David Nicholls, but of course there is no doubt it is down to the casting. One word, Anne F****ing Hathway! They should have left it alone, or at least for a few years. FYI… I have not actually watched it; but only because refuse to. Although people I know that have seen it are just as distraught as I am.
Developed Society will continue to focus mainly on Film and TV, with a tinge of Music, Style, Literature and Photography.
And speaking about photography, I finally managed to get my hands on a Canon 550D DSLR and have been trying my hand at Photography. At the moment I am only working with one lens, yes the one that came in the box, but I am taking donations towards my next lens. Seriously. I have set up a Flickr account as it is the best way to not have my images spread all over the net, but if you are interested in using any of the photo’s fill free to request the rights, for a small fee of course.
Once I have redeemed myself with plenty of posts I hope I am forgiven. Please???
Here are some snaps of what I have been doing in the interim.
Cheryl
DEVELOPED SOCIETY 2.0 