Frances Ha

Frances Ha is a 2013 American comedy drama film directed by Noah Baumbach, about a dancer struggling to find her place in the world, and a job, and drifting from apartment to apartment as she doesn't have a place to live. Greta Gerwig stars as Frances Halliday, a young dancer working as an understudy for a dance company, flitting between the apartments of her friends Sophie, played by Mickey Summer, Lev played by Adam Driver and Benji played by Michael Zegen.

The film reminded me a huge amount of Woody Allen's Manhattan, like Manhattan, Frances Ha is shot in black and white, giving the film a beautiful timeless quality,the script is fun and playful, and the performances feel real and lived in, the film belongs to the mumblecore movement, and thus the dialogue has a realistic quality. Frances Ha benefits from fantastic performances from its, largely unknown cast, and Great Gerwig shines as the fun, yet complicated Frances Halliday.

Frances Ha is surprisingly joyful for a modern film, the whole film has a light quality, and the films ending has a huge emotional payoff. Frances Ha feels uncomplicated and simple, and doesn't try to be too clever, in some ways the film feels slightly nonchalant and unpretentious, and the whole film has a charm that feels missing from modern Hollywood. The film is entirely engrossing, and we get entirely caught up in Frances' story, this is due for the most part to Great Gerwig's performance, which should have been nominated for an Oscar this year, yet which sadly was snubbed.

Writing this review has been a little difficult, and i feel like i don't have enough to say, but what enchanted me about Frances Ha was the pure joy i felt from watching it, and the sheer amount of pleasure this film gave me, like it's spiritual predecessor Manhattan, Frances Ha looks to be a timeless film that will be enjoyed by many generations for years to come. Frances Ha, like the character is enchanting, effervescent and quirky. Rating: B+

Sophie: It's just this apartment is very... aware of itself.

NYMPH()MANIAC - Vol I

It is becoming clear to me that pornography and cinema are becoming irreversibly closer. Nymphomaniac has been described as the film that no one should want to see, I found this a little unnerving, as I was very excited for this film. Lars Von Trier is a Danish filmmaker known for his controversial style of his filmmaking, and for thematically grouping his films into trilogies, based on their visuals and concepts. Nymphomaniac is the gripping two part finale to his depression trilogy. Like the other films in the trilogy, Charlotte Gainsbourg stars, this time as Joe, a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac, who, after she is discovered beaten in an alley, recounts her erotic history from the age of fifteen to the age of fifty.

So far, only the first part has been released, and overall the full length feature clocks in at five and a half hours. The cut down version, marketed as the soft-core version, was edited with Von Triers consent, but without his participation, and even for a cinemaphile like myself, spending 5 and a half hours watching any film, would be a little much. Fortunately the film features a surprisingly natural cutoff point, for the first part, Joe is played in flashbacks by Stacy Martin, a model, who is a surprisingly talented actress, who manages to hold the screen and the audience’s attention with a surprising amount of grace and elegance, and who manages to let us know how she I feeling with only the smallest of gestures. Charlotte Gainsbourg also delivers, her performance as Joe is understated and deep, and seeing as she is mostly narrating the film, she manages to induce so much pain and emotion, using only her voice. Shia LaBoeuf also stars in this film as Jerome, one of Joe’s many lovers. LaBoeuf manages to successfully play Jerome first as a fifteen year old boy, and secondly as a young man, not an easy feat. Uma Thurman also stars as Mrs H, in a slightly bizarre performance that nonetheless delivers, it is marvelous to see Thurman in a feature film again, having been absent from our screens for too long. Overall Nymphomaniac shows that Lars Von Trier really is excellent at directing actors, and the performances in this film are strong.

Overall the “present” of the film, takes place in an apartment, with Joe recounting her story to Seligman, played by Stellan Skarsgaard. The chemistry between these two actors is palpable, and they manage to play polar opposites, in terms of temperament and feeling, yet have so much connection. The film is split into chapters, with the names of the chapters being shown on the screen as in a novel. These chapters often feature a different tone or visual style than the others, for instance chapter 4 : Delerium, is entirely in black and white, and Chapter 3: Mrs H features a different aspect ratio to the other chapters and the first chapter, titled The Compleat Angler, features numerous analogies to fishing and flashback to fishing manuals and examples of fishing techniques. Overall I feel that by changing the visual style of each chapter, Von Trier is able to keep the film fresh, and stops it from dragging. By segmenting the film into chapters, Von Trier creates what is essentially a series of interconnected short stories, tied together by a narrative between Joe and Seligman.

One of the only real problems I have with this film, is that I don’t really understand what Lars Von Trier is trying to say about hypersexuality or about female sexuality, normally not entirely understanding a film isn’t a problem for me, a film can be enjoyable without being entirely understood, 2001: A Space Odyssey is a good example of this, however the problem with Nymphomaniac is that I’m not sure Lars Von Trier knows what he wants to say either, but ive decided that this is not really a problem, for years filmmakers have made action films that say absolutely nothing, but that are simply good fun. Nymphomaniac though perhaps not saying anything explicit of focused about our society or the omniscient presence of sexuality in the world, instead he is simply exploring this world with little focus or direction, and the results are startling. Von Trier creates a film which is an instinctive exploration of female sexuality, and from which the audience is encouraged to supplement with their own ideas and conclusions, I like this style of filmmaking, it feels somewhat interactive.

The tagline for the film is: “Forget About Love”, and the film certainly supports this in tone and in dialogue, much of Gainsbourg’s monologue is realistic and graphic in language, and Von Trier doesn’t shy away from the graphic nature of the work, however the film in its essence is romanticized, Joe recounts only the most important moments of her life, and many of these moments are subtly romanticized, Joe is reminded of three lovers she once had by a piece of organ music featuring three voices by Bach, Joe imagines the visiting the hospital in black and white during Chapter 4, and she imagines her childhood as an appealing and idyllic vision, in contrast with the strong, harsh words of her monologue. The fact that this film is a firsthand account itself tells us that this film is romanticized, Seligman remarks that Joe often sees herself in a negative light, and we will never really know how much of the story is true, and how much is imagined, thus it is reasonable to assume that the film is, in itself a romanticized version of true events, as a first person always account is.

The term enjoyed might be a little strong here, as Lars Von Trier might not be the first person to spring to mind when one thinks of pleasure, however overall I found Nymphomaniac to be a thrilling watch, gripping and suspenseful, that raises various questions about female sexuality and our relationship with eroticism, many of the questions Von Trier asks are projected onto the audience, requiring us to ask the same questions. Overall a talented cast with a breakout performance by Stacy Martin and visceral graphic direction make Nymphomaniac a powerful and deeply insightful watch. Rating: A-

Joe: Perhaps the only difference between me and other people is that I've always demanded more from the sunset. More spectacular colors when the sun hit the horizon. That's perhaps my only sin.

Why Arrested Development Is the Greatest Series of All Time

I know, terrible title. Arrested development is an American television sitcom which aired in 2003 originally on the FOX network, and subsequently on Netflix. The series was created by Mitchell Hurwitz and produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard who also stars as the shows uncredited narrator. The show is a comedy series which incorporates handheld camera footage, faux archive footage and photographs. The series revolves around Michael Bluth, vice president of the Bluth company owned by his father, and his dysfunctional family.

Jason Bateman stars as Michael Bluth, and Will Arnett, Tony Hale and Portia DeRossi as his siblings. The series aired three seasons on Fox from 2003 to 2006 before the season was abruptly cancelled due to low viewership despite large cult following and critical acclaim. In 2012 Netflix announced plans to resurrect the series on its online distribution service. The new episodes were released all on the same day in late spring 2013. The series will apparently be continued with a movie, and then another series on Netflix.

The series used many running gags, such as the chicken dance throughout its run. Many characters referenced the fact that Tobias is clearly a homosexual, JOB often rode around on a Segway (those things are seriously pointless) and attempted many magic tricks, most of which were failures. The Bluth family matriarch often winked awkwardly and Buster often seemed to be unhealthily attached to his mother. Buster also looses a hand which makes massaging people awkwardy almost deadly, and of course the chicken dance. This use of inside jokes contributed to the shows following, but may have 'turned off' potential viewers.

The fourth season uses an interesting structure, each episode follows a different character, and the whole season follows the same time period, characters may be seen in each episode for only an instant, in moments which will later be viewed from the other characters point of view, in different episodes. This season also used birds as a running gag; many characters are attacked by ostriches and the Funke's put a live turkey in the oven for thanksgiving. Overall the reason Arrested Development is so good, if because it is hilarious. Plain and simple.

Tobias Fünke: Okay, Lindsay, are you forgetting that I was a professional twice over - an analyst and a therapist. The world's first analrapist. 

Oz, Neither Great nor Powerful

Oz The Great and Powerful is a 2013 Disney prequel to the 1939 MGM film, directed by Spider-Man director Sam Rami. The film stars James Franco as Oscar Diggs, a small town traveling magician from Kansas, who is whisked away in a tornado to a magical land called Oz, where ha encounters three witches: Mila Kunis plays Theodora, Michelle Williams plays Glinda, the good witch of the south and Rachel Weisz plays evanora, the wicked witch of the east. The film uses a spectacularly large amount of CGI, and a large part of the film was made on a digital backlot.

The film is set many years before the events of The Wizard of Oz, and describes the wizard's arrival in Oz. Oscar Diggs is swept away to a magical land by a hot air balloon while he is attempting to escape from the wrath of his investors. Diggs discovers a world in turmoil, where three witches fight for power. The problem with this film is that it has no message, the film says nothing about power or magic, and the character of Oz is totally miscast, with James Franco lacking the slick charm of the magician, and seeming like merely a slimeball. The films only message seems to be that cheating pays, and nothing is said about what truly makes a great man great, a missed opportunity rather.  The film is only a semi-prequel to The Wizard of Oz, and the film makes little reference to the 1939 film, neither visually nor stylistically. The narrative of the film somewhat follows the MGM film, with Oscar meeting Dorothy's mother in kansas, and Diggs being sucked into Oz in the same way that Dorothy was. Stylistically the film shares very little with The Wizard of Oz. The only real similarity is that the film opens in black and white and transforms into color when Diggs enters Oz. The film also begins in the old fashioned 'academy' ratio, and gradually expands into widescreen.

The film looks very little like the original film, the MGM film used largely low-fi practical effects. For instance the door opening to color was achieved with some very careful painting of the door, a sepia tinted outfit and a slight tint on the whole first segment led to a very convincing effect. The whole of the 1939 film was filmed in a studio, whereas this film was mostly made on a digital backlot, sacrificing reality for fakery, and grounded imagery for fancy graphics, and The film for the most part looks terrible. Generally this film can be split into three segments, the first black and white segment, the second segment set on and around the yellow brick road, and the final segment, which portrays the battle for Oz. The second segment looks the worse, and is the one which looks the least grounded in reality. This segment was mainly shot on a digital background, and depicts a world in which everything looks larger than life, and giant. The problem with this is that rather than looking awe inspiring, James Franco just looks ridiculously small, and looks out of place, the real problem is that there is no point of reference, and the actors are simply pasted onto these backgrounds with no interaction between the characters and their surroundings.

The character of Finley is also a problem, the character looks fake and rubbery, and fails to leap the uncanny valley. However the character of China Girl is unbelievably cute. The final sequence of the film looks fantastic, and the filmmakers use an art deco style for the emerald city, and although the city differs from the in the MGM film, it looks fantastic. The film overall has a rather good script and a fun story and the overall conclusion of the story is really rather clever. The wicked witches costume annoyed me a little, as she has a strap round her neck, which makes her look really small and a little fat. The film also suffers from the fact that many of the iconic properties invented for the MGM film were not allowed for this film, due to the rights being held by Warner Bros. The ruby slippers are an example as well as the swirl design in munchkinland and the mole on the wicked witch of the west's chin and the exact color of her skin, this leads to the witch being presented as a small fa woman with an unappetizing skin color, as opposed to the real iconic monster in the 1939 film.

Overall many of the failures of this film are due to it being too tied in to the film world of the MGM film, yet legal issues hamper it from becoming a true prequel, and from having the classic iconic feel of the original. Overall the film looks withering and lacks any real grounding, the characters seem superimposed and photoshopped onto their environments. The story is rather clever, however it has no meaning and says nothing about power or greatness. this film pails in comparison to Return to Oz which looks better and has more substance. 50% prequel, 50% spinoff; 100% pointless Rating: C+

Theodora: Aren't you the great man we've been waiting for?

FRANKENWEENIE - A Review By Philip Josse

Firstly I recently did an interview with Louisa from Eurofash blog, which can be found here!

Well, this was a good weekend, after much grappling over whether to watch this or the Tree of Life, me and my brother found ourselves watching Frankenweenie, a 3D stop motion horror film from Tim Burton, a little gem which unfortunately slipped under the radar a little. The film is adapted from Tim Burtons 1984 short film, about a boy who attempts to bring his dog back to life after it is hit by a car, which later runs amok creating havoc for the people of New Holland. The film is entirely in black and white, and was converted to 3D in post production, and entirely unnecessary move, which was necessitated by Burton's contractual obligation with Disney.

The film is Tim Burtons love letter to classic monster movies, (in fact various posters for the film were even created with false titles to be parodies of old monster B movies), and contains numerous references to old movies, some of which only die hard movie fans will recognize. The whole of the plot is a light parody of Frankenstein, with the main character having the same name as the titular character, and with the whole plot having a similar idea, and similar themes, albeit with a more comedic, lighter tone. Sparky, victors dog which he brings back to life, has a similar look to Frankenstein's monster, with bolts coming out of his neck, and stitching which is similar to those of the creature. One of Victor's enemies has a similar flat headed look and vacant gaze as the monster, and the final act of the film takes place in and around a windmill, ironically mirroring the end of Burton's Sleepy Hollow, whose final act also took place around a windmill, which was in turn inspired by the end of the original, classic Frankenstein movie. A character also comically falls into an oversize Russian doll wrapped up in fabric, in a visual homage to The Mummy.

Christopher Lee also features in a small cameo as Dracula, in a clip from the classic movie, and one of the creatures which is transformed into a large bat/cat creature, which is finally killed by being impaled, impaling also being the only way in which Dracula can be killed. Elsa Van Helsing's name is an homage to the famed character, and her pet poodle gains a

white stripe in her hair similar to that of the bride of Frankenstein. Edgar Gore's name and appearance is a reference of the stock character of Igor, and the final act of the film references movies such as Godzilla, Jurassic Park and Gremlins. And the school science teacher, voiced by legend Martin Landau, is a visual homage to icon Vincent Price.

The fact that this movie is stop motion is of huge benefit to the success of this film, stop motion, a genre for which i have a huge respect, gives the characters a quirkiness and a gravity which would be absent with generic computer animation. The stop motion here is the best i have ever seen, with production lasting 2 years, and with there being no jerkiness on lag, due to the high number of frames per second. Only the realness of the whole film, the brushstrokes on the faces of characters are a giveaway to the film being stop motion. Visually the film is a treat, and computer animation was used somewhat in creating lightning, electricity and clouds. The town in which Victor lives is also visually somewhat similar to the town in Edward Scissorhands, with the houses being almost identical.

Thematically the film deals with the ideals of good and evil, and the thought that creatures must be created out of love in order to turn out good. Sparky who is brought back to life out of love, is cute and adorable, whereas the other creatures in the movie, who are resuscitated out of greed and mistrust, become evil and ugly, and bear no resemblance to the creatures they were when they were alive. The film also explores the idea of use and misuse of power, and the idea that the power to bring back the dead must be controlled. That when one tries to play god, bad things happen and things go wrong.

In conclusion Frankenweenie is a lot more complex than it may at first seem, and can thus be enjoyed on two levels. My only qualm with this film is that it is not really appropriate or suitable for children, and many may be frightened by some of the creatures and imagery in the film. However for us adults Frankenweenie is stylish and fun, and as a playful parody of classic monster movies, as actually a lot deeper and more intelligent than it may at first seem. Rating: A

Edgar 'E' Gore: Your dog is alive!

My Top 10 cinematic music videos

Well, i decided in a haze that music videos can also be incredibly cinematic, and as thus can be considered cinema, so despite having previously kept this blog to movies and the occasional miniseries, i decided to review the greatest music videos of all time. Click the song titles for videos!

• Alejandro: Beautiful and haunting this is one of the best music videos i have ever seen, the video samples the haunting violin solo and is over seven minutes long, directed by Steven Klein the video is inspired by old photography, and is very saturated, being almost entirely in black and white with very little color and mainly only reds, the film contains some great dancing and is a fantastic homage to Madonna and vintage Steven Klein photography.

• Thriller: One of the greatest music video of all time, creepy dancing and iconic fashion make this a fantastic music video. The video has become the blueprint for the modern music video, and is still as modern as ever. The video is an homage to 1970's sci-fi monster movies, and is a mini-movie with a plot and dialogue, and the special effects are great, and manage to be a little cheesy, without being too ridiculous.

• Girl Gone Wild: A pitifully underrated Madonna video, she references past moments in her career, playing many of the persona's she has taken on over the years, and the black and white imagery is a playful homage to her career. The video features men in stilettos, tilting rooms and smoke effects, and uses fast editing which mimics the pulsating beats of the fast dance number. The video also features Madonna looking the best she has in years!

• S&M: Controversial and in fact banned by MTV this video is fun and flirty, and features Rihanna as her provocative hyper sexual best, colorful the video uses camera pans and wipes, makes smart use of racking shots and uses fast cuts effectively. The video is a fashion homage to bondage fashion of the 1980's of the type favored by Grace Jones, however it gives it a fun twist by being flirty and colorful.

• Telephone: Again a mini-movie this time Gaga continues on the story of the paparazzi video. The 10 minute video contains gaga in prison, waiting for a call from Beyoncé. As always Gaga gives us complete over the top fashion, fantastic dancing and dazzling color. The video is an homage to Bonny and Clyde, and to Tarantino, with Gaga and Beyoncé going on a murderous rampage in the Pussy Wagon, and killing all the customers in a diner, before dancing a bit and escaping the cops before, perhaps getting caught....to be continued.

• Ride: Perhaps a slightly controversial choice, however Ride is a stunningly beautiful music video, with a haunting monologue at the beginning. The video is beautifully understated, and feels natural and unstaged, and shows Lana in the arms of various men, as is described in the song. The video is cinematographically distinct, and i wouldn't be surprised if it was shot on film. The shots have a beautiful romantic look, and overall the video is simply heartbreaking.

• Vogue: Always a classic, this video was one of the first music videos to really show them as an art, and is still as modern today as it was twenty years ago. This film bought vogueing into mainstream consciousness. The black and white video references old movies, and vintage fashion from the thirties, and was directed by David Fincher, acclaimed director of Fight Club, and uses art deco architecture, to create one of the most stunningly beautiful videos of all time.

• Toxic: A video featuring Spears at her fun, flirtatious best, the video features Spears with three different hair colors, and a plot featuring Spears as a James Bond type spy, moonlighting as a hostess on an airplane, the video is one pf Spears best, and although it has sadly been forgotten since its release, it hasn't aged a day, and is still as current as ever.
  

• Invisible Light: a little known video by the Scissor Sisters, the video features none of the bands members, and is a surrealist art film, with thriller and horror elements, in which the song acts as almost a backing track. The video uses muted tones, and slow pans, and features a woman having a series of nightmares inspired by 1950's films, and using colors inspired by Dali paintings, this is a beautiful music video, which stands out from this list.

• BAD ROMANCE: In my mind this is the absolute greatest video of all time, Bad Romance uses a fantastic plot, inspired by the singles Russian industrial music sound, the video features Gaga as a sex slave, being auctioned off, as a doll in a bath house with huge enhanced blue eyes. The video was the first of the modern age to really redefine music videos as an art, and was nominated for a record 13 VMA's, the video is stylish, unpretentious and sleek, and was the first music video event in history, leading artists to tease the release of videos, which had been previously just been released with the song. The video features some of the best fashion featured in a music video since Vogue, and is a stunning tribute to the talents of Alexander McQueen as a designer, and to the music video for thriller, which is referenced in the choreography. Provocative artistic and daring, this truly is Gaga at her very best, and the results are timeless and classic.

 

The Future of Stop-Motion

This year marked the occurrence of an unusual phenomenon at the Academy Awards. This year out of the five films nominated for the Best Animated Feature Award, three of them were stop motion films. Frankenweenie, The Pirates! and Paranorman were nominated, though of course Brave won. Stop motion is a technique which uses models of varying scales and a camera in order to create a moving image. The model is moved slightly between each photo, up to 20 times a second. This is an intensely labourious process, and it can take a week to produce a minute of film.

One of the most famous and celebrated stop motion films is the Nightmare Before Christmas, which is responsible for popularizing the genre and which remains one of the most influential stop motion pictures to this day. The technique provides a distinct look, and adds depth and grounds the animation. There is also generally a quirkiness to stop-motion, and i do not think there is a single stop-motion film which can be accused of being generic, as the films often have unique visual identities and stunning cinematography, it is also a more flexible form of animation, in that it is easier to visualise the sets and the characters,

and easier to visualize the shot than with regular hand drawn animation, where pans and wipes are rarely used.

These films often have darker and more adult stories than regular animated films, they are also normally originals, and are rarely adaptations of fairy tales such as are typical animated films. The reason for their darker themes in my opinion is twofold. Firstly the influence of Tim Burton's work on this sub genre cannot be understated, and The Nightmare Before Christmas remains hugely influential. Secondly the technique of stop-motion lends itself to this kind of story, as the animation tends to look a little more jerky and less smooth, and thus is appropriate for this kind of subject.
 
3D is a technique that is being used more and more with stop-motion, with 'Nightmare' being the first film to be converted to 3D in post production, with subsequent films such as Frankenweenie also using conversion therapy to add a 3D effect. Paranorman on the other hand was shot in 3D, using a specialized rig which moved the camera after each photo, thus taking an identical photo but with slightly different perspective for each photo taken, and it is perhaps the first stop-motion film to be shot in 3D. Paranorman and Coraline also pioneered the use of 3D printers for printing faces, diminishing sculpting time.

Overall stop motion is a hugely exciting form of animation, and one which is only being enhanced with the use of computer generated imagery and 3D shooting. And it is a form of animation at which Tim Burton really does excel.