Films seen so far this year: 61
Films seen this week: Freestyle, She, A Chinese, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Alice in Wonderland (3D), Green Zone, Kick Ass, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (again), The Sicilian Girl.
BAFTAs Winners 2010
As much as I wanted (and expected) Jeff Bridges to win, I was delighted that Colin Firth won for A Single Man, particularly as he gave what was easily the best speech of the night.
Most of the other awards went exactly as I predicted last week, the obvious exception being that Avatar won neither Best Picture nor Best Director. I was also thrilled that they went for Fish Tank and A Prophet in the Outstanding British Film and Best Foreign Film categories, respectively and that Duncan Jones won Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer for Moon. So, all in all, a pretty respectable BAFTAs this year, rewarding genuinely great films and resisting the urge to pander to the Oscars. Speaking of which, what do the BAFTA results mean for the Oscars? Probably nothing. Bridges will still win the Best Actor Oscar, Sandra Bullock (not nominated at the BAFTAs) will take Best Actress and Avatar is still likely to win either Best Picture or Best Director. We're in the home stretch now though, Oscars-fans. Roll on March 7th...
Trailerwatch: Get Him To The Greek
Okay, so I'd heard of this one before this week, because it features Russell Brand reprising his character from Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but this is the first time I've watched the trailer. The plot involves a record company intern (Jonah Hill) escorting rock star Aldous Snow (Brand) to the Greek theatre for an anniversary gig. I've got to say, I'm not very impressed so far. If your funniest gag in the trailer involves Jonah Hill trying to push drugs up his arse, you're probably in trouble. Also, the cast list suggests cameos from the likes of Katy Perry, Pink and Christina Aguilera and I'm willing to bet right now that those will be some seriously unfunny cameos. There also doesn't seem to be that much of a plot – either that or Jonah Hill's character spends 75% of the film either drunk or stoned. That said, Brand was very good in Forgetting Sarah Marshall and I'm tentatively looking forward to seeing him play Snow again – his expression after the line ‘It's 5am - shall we go jogging?’ is probably my favourite bit of the whole trailer. Hill can be funny too, although the only amusing bit here is his delivery of the line ‘Europe!’ after the not-funny two kisses bit. On the plus side, there are some talented co-stars, such as Elisabeth Moss (Peggy from Mad Men, who was actually very good in Did You Hear About The Morgans?), the lovely Rose Byrne (mysteriously absent from the trailer) and Aziz Ansari (from my current favourite US TV comedy Parks & Recreation), demonstrating his impressive comedic talents in the trailer by making unfunny lines appear more amusing than they are. The film opens here on June 25th and for once, I don't mind waiting.
Top 10 Films On Release This Week (as recommended by me):
Three very different new entries this week, with Jean-Pierre Jeunet's delightful MicMacs, Chinese-Girl-in-London drama She, A Chinese and Michael Moore's latest documentary Capitalism: A Love Story all making it into the top ten. Of the clutch of three-star movies out this week, I liked The Crazies the most, so that takes the much-coveted invisible 11th place. Stinker of the week this week is definitely Leap Year, a film so bad even co-star Matthew Goode has disowned it.
1. A Prophet
2. Crazy Heart
3. MicMacs
4. Ponyo
5. Up in the Air
6. The Princess and the Frog
7. Youth In Revolt
8. She, A Chinese
9. A Single Man
10. Capitalism: A Love Story
DVD of the Week: Fantastic Mr Fox (out March 1st, RRP £19.99)
This week's DVD of the Week is Fantastic Mr Fox, Wes Anderson's wonderful stop-motion animation version of Roald Dahl's classic children's book. George Clooney voices Mr Fox, whose clashes with farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean cause severe problems for his family and friends. This is a hugely enjoyable, frequently funny comedy with delightfully quirky animation and a superb voice cast that includes Meryl Streep, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman. However, the biggest surprise is just how perfectly Fantastic Mr Fox sits alongside Anderson's previous films. It's also packed with little details that will reward multiple viewings. Great soundtrack too. Extras include three short featurettes on the look of the film, the cast and A Beginner's Guide to Whack-Bat. However, the one on the cast has several fabulous clips of the actors recording their lines in unconventional fashion – often outdoors or on location rather than in a recording studio. They're also basically doing live action versions of the scenes at the same time, so there's a shot of Clooney eating (Mr Fox-style) that's worth the price of the DVD alone, not to mention a shot of Clooney and Bill Murray growling at each other. Highly recommended, for adults and children alike.