Panic Room

After directing 2001’s cult classic Fight Club, David Fincher decided to direct something smaller and simpler. Thus Panic Room is set almost entirely in a New York brownstone mansion, occupied by a wealthy divorcee and her daughter.

There is something highly theatrical about this piece and it could easily be adapted for theatre, the entire spectacle takes place over a night in which, after Meg Altman and her daughter, Sarah move into their new home, criminals break in looking for something hidden in the upstairs safe, they are surprised to find that the new occupants of the house have already moved in, and after the occupants lock themselves in the panic room where the safe is hidden.

Fincher and screenwriter David Koep were inspired to make this film after watching a news story about how wealthy suburban WASPs were building panic rooms to protect against interlopers. The second and third acts involve the intruders trying to coaxe the family out of the panic room in order to access the safe.

Although it was originally conceived as a standard popcon thriller, in typical Fincher style it is, in reality, far more complex than that, the film plays upon themes of mortality, suburban paranoia and the insecurity of wealth.

Throughout the film the panic room is frequently compared to a coffin, and Sarah relates being trapped in the panic room to being buried alive, this is an interesting comparison, and especially true given how the phone is disconnected and they have no way of contacting the outside world, the way Sarah compares their situation to being buried alive shows that she is losing hope, and that she feels a sense of finality in their situation.

The film also touches on themes of suburban paranoia, the very presence of a panic room shows a paranoid fear of interlopers and tresspassers, and the numerous high security features in the room, feel unnecessary, and show the paranoia of the previous owner.

FInally another theme frequently explored in this film, and throughout many other of Fincher’s works is how insecure wealth can be, although Meg, being a divorced woman is obviously fabulously wealthy, and can afford to buy such extravagant security features as a panic room and CCTV, it is apparent that her wealth, in addition to being useless in the situation in which she finds herself, actually makes her a target, and that the unnecessarily large house she buys makes her highly vulnerable.

The film stars Jodie Forster as Meg, and Kristen Stewart as her daughter, Forster manages to bring gravitas to a film which could appear frivolous in the hands of a less capable lead actress. And Kristen Stewart proves that she is capable not only of some pretty decent acting, but also of closing her mouth occasionally. This film proves that before she was artistically raped by the sheer awfulness of the Twilight Saga, that she was actually a pretty decent actor, and as child stars go, she’s really bloody good in this film.

As the three interloper who try and break in to the panic room, Forest Wittaker plays Burnham, the most compassionate of the group, and Jared Leto plays Junior, grandson of the previous owner of the house and a hardened criminal. Finally Dwight Yoakam plays the third archetype of criminal, a hardened and rutheless and mechanical assassin who rarely shows his face and who kills with little compassion. These three men represent three stereotypes of criminal, and it is interesting that they all share the same fate, in spite of their different outlooks.

Whilst it may appear to be just another popcorn flick, Panic Room is a theatrical and thought out thriller, which makes a great statement on the notion of security and mortality in an era directly after 9/11, and which features fine performances from it’s leads.

Wild

"What if I forgive myself? What if I was sorry?", these are the words of a woman who has just walked a thousand miles up the west coast of america, in order to handle the grief of her mothers death. Wild is based on the eponymous memoir by Cheryl Strayed, which rocketed to the top of bestsellers lists after being featured as part of Oprah's book club.

The film opens with Cheryl, recently divorced and planning on hiking the Pacific Crest Trail to mourn her deceased mother, throughout the film Strayed reflects on her relationship with her mother, and the self destructive behavior that led up to her becoming addicted to heroin, getting divorced and hitting bottom.

Reese WItherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed, in what is almost certainly her greatest leading role since Walk the Line almost a decade ago. Her performance is deft and focused and all the more impressive given that she spends much of her screen time alone, also featured is Laura Dern as Bobbi, Cheryl's mother. The relationship between these two women is central to the film, and the chemistry between Dern and WItherspoon is impressive.

Music is also used impressively in the film, the films 'theme' is El Condor Pasa, by SImon and Garfunkel, which is used to evoke Cheryl's mother, the opening bars of this track are also used as instrumental, adding a mysterious and eerie quality to the film.

Wild is far from a revolutionary film, it doesn't do anything particularly new or different, it has highly familiar structure, which has been used repeatedly in film since it's creation by DW Griffith. This structure is frequently used badly and here it is at least successful.

Wild is worth a watch even if just to witness the incredible performances given by it's leads, it is beautifully acted and thoughtful without being ponderous.

Ray of Light

Ray of Light could be very accurately described as the favorite Madonna of all who hate Madonna, though it should be shocking that people who hate The Queen exist, their existence is an unfortunate reality.

Ray of Light is the least Madonna of all her albums, released just after the birth of her first child and after her conversion of kabbalah, the album brought electronica into the mainstream, and was her first album made entirely without using a single instrument.

The album was also recorded shortly after the completion of Evita, so her voice was at its peak given all the vocal work she did for that film.

The album is also refreshingly uncommercial, it features a song sung entirely in Sanskrit, something very few mainstream pop artists would be able to pull off.

The album begins on a strong if slightly ponderous note, Drowned World/Substitute for Love finds Madonna contemplating fame and everything she has sacrificed. Before launching into Skin and the album's’ title track. The album really finds its rhythm around the middle, with Nothing Really Matters and Frozen being album highlights.

Ray of Light is more of a concept album than a conventional LP, rather than being simply a collection of songs, Ray of Light is truly a record in the truest sense, it feels cohesive and complete, there is a sense of flow and it is a wholly defined piece of art.

The album has a unique sound, and shows Madonna at her most experimental, experimenting with electronica and synthesizers for the first time, the album is soothing and sort of sounds like one is listening to it underwater, everything is softer and slightly more muffled.

Ray of Light is a deeply progressive record and the influences of it are still being heard today, it kickstarted the record industry to embrace electronic music, and it freed mainstream artists from needing to conform to a certain sound, Madonna herself would do well to take her own advice today.

Ray of Light is a hugely thrilling album, and is one that even those most loathing of Madonna will enjoy, it is progressive, original and unique, and it is proof that pop start needn't make generic, conventional records. Ray of Light stands out as not only the best Madonna album, but as one of the greatest pop records of all time.

God Help the Girl

Twee is not a word which not nearly enough films can be described by, Gid Help the Girl can definately be described in this way, directed by Belle and Sebastian frontman Stuart Murdoch and starring Emily Browning and Olly Alexander this film is a delightfully quirky musical comedy.

It’s quirkiness is definitely part of its appeal, and it also allows us to forgive some of the films shortcomings, whilst the film does often feel aimless and bloated, it is too adorable and cute to truly dislike.

The films stars are really rather good despite neither of them being known as great actors, Emily Browning partly makes up for her earlier missteps such as Sucker Punch and Years and Years frontman Olly Alexander proves his acting chops in his first leading role.

God Help the Girl is the story of Eve, a girl suffering from anorexia and living in a mental hospital in Scotland who escapes to Glasgow and meets James, a struggling musician, together they start a band, called God Help the Girl, along with Cassie, a young music student.

The film suffers majorly from third act drag, and it definitely starts to feel very long after about an hour, ironically this sense of aimlessness was one of the films greatest strengths in the early on, as the meandering plot mimicked the sense of aimlessness of the main character, however the audience soon begins to tire, and I wanted to know where this story was going, thankfully the films climax is at least relatively satisfying.

God Help the GIrl is a massively flawed film, though it is enjoyable and its use of music is superb, despite its aimlessness and meandering plot the performances in this film are strong, and its a fairly enjoyable romp through an incredibly musical Glasgow.

Snowpiercer

This ecological epic from south korean director Bong Joon-ho is an incredibly powerful piece of art, simultaneously an action epic and an art house indie Snowpiercer is about the last remaining survivors of planet earth who circle the globe in a perpetually travelling train after an ice age has caused the near extinction of the human race.

The film is a massive piece of social commentary, and on the train is a sturdily defined social structure much like on our planet today, at the back of the train the tail passengers live in squalid conditions, the passengers in the middle live lives of lavish decadence while in the head, Wilford, the builder of the train lives in peaceful minimalism.

The tail passengers, lead by Curtis played by Chris Evans surge towards the front of the train hoping to ignite a revolution. The whole train is a metaphor for our societies social structure, for our class system and how the status quo is necessary to keep order.

Mason, Wilford's henchwoman is a fearsome character, played by Tilda Swinton she is a thatcherian masterpiece, with a broad yorkshire accent and ever broader teeth, Swinton's performance is predictably magnificent.

The other performances of this film are also excellent, with Joon-ho directing a fine cast of thespians including Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Ed Harris and John Hurt

Visually this film is a treat, with the segments of the train playing important roles, the train itself is a fully three dimensional space, holistically realized and minutely crafted it is a space the audience longs to explore, we long to walk though the orangery and marvel at the aquarium, we long to explore the nightclubs and saunas.

What is also apparent from Snowpiercer is how much of a mash up it is of multiple genres, the film is a blockbuster with an A-list cast, yet the way in which the film analyses our current social system. Snowpiercer is a shoestring indie film, with a massive budget and fantastic cast, and this film is the perfect example of how original films can survive in spite of large budgets.

I really enjoyed Snowpiercer, it's refreshing, unique and original, and it's heartening to see how original films can thrive in our adaptation laden movie release schedule.

Gogglebox

Though Tatler is not the place one would usually expect to find television recommendations, I was pushed to watch this television titan whilst perusing the latest edition that I stumbled upon Steph and Dom, AKA the posh couple from Gogglebox.

After another recommendation by my friend from Devon I gave the show a try, and was rather delighted. My parents were horrified when I explained the concept, after all the idea of watching other people watch TV sounds horrifically meta and unbelievably dull.

However conceptually this show is genius, in Britain we manage to squeeze in, on average, around four hours of television every day, and as such many television events have a tendency to unite the nation.

From a purely voyeuristic point of view, Gogglebox offers a fantastic way to see how the other half lives, especially politically, it is fascinating to see how people of various socio-economic backgrounds react to the leadership debates, and it provided an interesting window into how people other than me think.

Gogglebox is undoubtedly the realist of reality shows, it lacks the soap opera flashiness of Keeping up with the Kardashians or Made in Chelsea, and its storyline, rather than needing to be created in the editing suite, is instead guided by the weeks television.

Its other strength is that it airs at the end of the week, and is filmed essentially in real time, so when it airs, many of the events shown have just happened, this is perhaps one of the most current reality television shows, it is particularly useful for me, because as I work in news, I don't have the luxury of burying my head in the sand. Watching Gogglebox allows me to know whats happening on TV, without having to sit through the entire Corrie omnibus.

Whilst conceptually Gogglebox should be a failure, it's possibly one of the most entertaining shows on television today, and is a fascinating look at British couch potato culture.

Big Hero Six

As the first Disney Animated Adaptation of a Marvel property, Big Hero 6 has a lot to live up to, thankfully the film delivers and is a refreshingly original addition to the Disney animated canon.

Big Hero 6 is the story of Hiro, a young robotics genius who is forced to become a superhero after his invention is stolen and his brother is killed in order to save his city and avenge his brother.

Firstly the film is gorgeous, Disney developed new computers and algorithms to animate the world seen, this is apparent as the film features some of the most stunning photorealistic animation yet seen on film, even surpassing many of Pixar's best efforts, which in itself is no mean feat.

The film is based in San Franskyo, described as a mashup of San Francisco and Tokyo, which is more accurately a japanified version of The Golden Gate city. San Fransokyo is laid out entirely like San Francisco down to the placement of the painted ladies and indeed the film makers even dug through city archives to lay out the city exactly.

The result is a world so complete and holistic, so all encompassing that it looks and feels like a real place.

This film is only Disney's second attempt at a science fiction film after Meet The Robinsons, and where Robinsons, though fantastic is a film with obvious caveats, Big Hero 6 is an entirely more well formed work.

The film reinvents the original comic book characters to make them more relatable (and more easily marketable to children) the monster Baymax is now cuddly and lovable, and the weirdos who surround our main character are now a ragtag team of endearing scientists.

It should be said that unfortunately this film is not part of the marvel cinematic universe, it would have been interesting and unexpected to tie this film in with other marvel properties, so its a shame that it is instead segregated.

Overall I really liked Big Hero 6, finding it to be beautiful, thoughtful and entertaining, this is the Disney animated movie that those who typically hate Disney will love, and is amongst the best marvel superhero films.

Ultraviolence - Lana Del Rey

What was instantly apparent from Del Rey's third full length album, and her second under her current moniker was how her sound had evolved from 2011's Born to Die. The album, whilst not a massive revolution or departure is certainly a progression. The sound is similarly dark and cinematic, but the sound is more subtle, and less starkly different from the rest of the current pop landscape.

Also evolved is Del Rey's songwriting, which has matured and developed and is now less cliched, stronger and more assured.

My opinions when I first heard 2011's Born to Die are quite different from my opinions now, at first I found it dull and bland, and it was only after listening to it for a few week that I became hooked. Ultraviolence is an entirely different animal, catchier and more gripping.

The opening tracks on the album include the title track, a harrowing melody which caused controversy upon its release last year for allegedly romanticizing domestic violence (I can't honestly see why anyone would expect anything less from a woman who described dying young as glamorous) and Shades of Cool, one of the album's highlights.

Ultraviolence is the of few albums which improve as they progress, there is often an unfortunate tendency to frontload albums with the best songs and then to fill up behind with filler, Ultraviolence thankfully doesn't go down this route, and Money Power Glory and Old Money are definite highlights from the second half of the album.

Ultraviolence is a highly solid sophomoric effort, and is an interesting maturation of Del Rey's sound, whilst she doesn't do anything particularly new with this album, it is an entirely polished LP, and shows Del Rey's talent both as a singer, and as a songwriter.

Tatler: An English Institution

Whilst it might seem strange to review a magazine, indeed reviews are more something which appear in magazines, however, for the last century, Tatler has been more than a magazine, this british institution has been advising the countries elite how to act, behave, dress and shop, teaching them where to take their holidays, and where to buy their tablecloths. It has taught Sloanes how to sext, earls how to eat and rahs how to rock and roll.

Buying a copy of Tatler is always an occasion, I personally read it almost fanatically, and this month it came with a pair of sunglasses (which I offered to my favorite Sloane in return for her driving me to go shopping). This months edition also came with the annual Watches and Jewelry  Guide, filled with gaudily large rocks which could only possibly be desired by the wives of Russian oligarchs.

Unlike most other magazines, which strive to have the most famous cover stars adorning their front pages, Tatler is often fronted by complete unknowns, young women who are entirely unremarkable save for the 'honorable' at the beginning of their names and the zeros at the end of their bank accounts.

What is also remarkable about Tatler is its sense of humor, articles like 'Turbo Sloanes are Go' and 'Whats It Like to be the Imperial State Crown?' set the periodicals tone nicely, whilst this is a magazine which caters to the country's elite, it is an incredibly self aware publication, and everything it does is done with a healthy amount of tongue in cheek.

With a circulation of less than 100 000, the only reason that Tatler exists is purely because of the wealth of its readership, advertisers flock for their adverts to appear in the magazine. Vogue readers aspire, whereas Tatler readers buy.

Tatler is the kind of magazine which is quintessentially British, the humor of the publication and its irreverence is unique to its identity, and I'm sure that for the next century, Tatler will prevail in advising the cream of British society how to behave.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Whilst watching this film, I was amazed by how iconic the movie felt, I felt as if I was watching the start of a movie franchise which would go on to become the next great spy franchise.

The film, adapted from a popular comic book series feels like a highly modernized James Bond, a version of Bond which, although less classic and less refined, was more energetic and fresher. Kingsman is the story of Eggsy, a young chav recruited into a secret spy organisation called The Kingsmen. Upon arriving at their headquarters he is set a series of tasks to determine his worth.

What was ultimately also apparent about Kingsman was the style of the film, the fashion of the film is stylish, classic and quintessentially British, and the films producers teamed up with Mr. Porter to create a clothing line based on the film, a first for the industry.

Although the film does sometimes feel aimless, and suffers from particular drag in its third act, it is never dull, and even when I was unsure about where the film was headed, it was always entertaining.

The star of the film is relative unknown Taron Egerton, who is a welcome addition to British cinema and who is able to make the relatively emotional difficult journey from east London chav to reformed gentleman by the end of the film.

The supporting cast of the film is filled out with Colin FIrth, Mark Strong, Samuel L Jackson and Michael Caine, who all give fine, if not outstanding performances.

Even if the film feels sometimes aimless Kingsman: The Secret Service is a delightfully stylish and entertaining cinematic romp, and may well be the greatest original british spy film since Dr. No, bring on the sequel.

The Future of Philips Journal

As you will probably have noticed I have been absent from the blogsphere for some months, towards the end of April I became bored, unchallenged and unhappy with the direction my blog was taking, what I had intended to be zeitgeisty, frothy amusing and entertaining had become shrill, dull and bitter, at this point I had been blogging for over two years, and was bored with it, a change was necessary.

I promptly set my blogs setting to private, stopped writing my column and decided to spend a while pondering the future of my writing, my short sabbatical ended up lasting multiple months, and as I sat in a tin can on the runway of Luton airport waiting to take of, I discovered what the future of my blog would be.

I started this blog writing film reviews, I then branched into writing television reviews and general pieces about the entertainment industry. This, I decided should be the future of my blogging. But rather than seeing this as a regression, I choose to see it as an evolution. Rather than writing solely about film and television, I shall write about multiple topics, reviewing shows, music, books, tech and even restaurants.

I hope that you will enjoy this journey.