The Hurt Locker

I thought the Hurt Locker was one of the best films I've seen in a long time. The film, directed by Kathryn Bigelow has just won 6 academy awards, including best picture. The film was excellent at creating tension. The screenplay for the film was written by Mark Boal, a freelance writer who was embedded as a journalist in 2004 with a U.S bomb squad in Iraq. I think that Boal's experiences in Iraq really added to the realism of the film. The fact that it was filmed in Jordan and cast Iraqi refugees as extras also added to the realism. The cast was excellent, with Jermey Renner very convincing as the reckless bomb disposal veteran, Staff Sergeant Thompson. I also enjoyed Ralph Fiennes brief but memorable performance as the leader of a group of private military contractors.

I definitely need to watch this stunning film again very soon.

Superstar: The Karen Capenter Story

This short film directed by Todd Haynes was made in 1987 and is a bio-pic of Karen Carpenter's life. The film looks at her life from the period she became famous up until her death in 1983. It is filmed in a documentary style, with Karen and most of the other characters being portayed using Barbie dolls. The film presents her mother, father and brother, Richard in an unflattering light. The film examines Karen's struggle with anorexia that eventually resulted in her death. The start of the fim shows a first person reconstruction of Karen's mother discovering Karen's body at their family home in Downey, California. The film then returns in flashback to the start of Karen's career in 1966. It is quite a dark film and I found the fact that the Barbie doll used to portray Karen got slowly more gaunt as the film progressed particularly unsettling.

The film was withdrawn from circulation in 1990, after her brother Richard successfully sued Haynes for copyright infringement. Apparently, rumour has it that Richard particularly objected to the fact that the film hinted that he was gay.

All in all, I thought this was an interesting film, that is worth watching.

Love is the Devil

This week we watched the film, Love is the Devil, by famed video director John Maybury. The film is a biographical piece about the famed painter, Francis Bacon. The film examines the destructive relationship between Bacon and his troubled lover George Dyer.

I thought the film was well made with both Derek Jacobi and Daniel Craig given outstanding performances as Bacon and Dyer. I think what really let the film down was the absense of any real plot progression. I thought that Maybury's cinematography was also excellent in catching the madness and claustrophobia of Dyer's character.

I did enjoy the film and particularly enjoyed Jacobi's perfomance as the selfish, self obsessed, egotistical, ohh look at me, i'm so troubled, bastard that he portrayed.

The Battle of Algiers

This Monday we watched the film, The Battle of Algiers. Once again I was very tired and barely conscious. However, I did enjoy the film and thought it was suprisingly well made and actually rather relevent to current issues in Iraq and Afganistan.

I have to applaud director Gillo Pontecorvo for his incredible dedication to realism in this film. This film often feels like a documentary rather than a dramatised film. I liked the fact that Pontecorvo, showed both sides of the story without demonising or making a hero out of either the French colonialists or the resisting Algierian natives. Apparently nearly all of the actors in this film were non-proffesional and were just locals chosen by Pontecorvo. I think this really shows in the film and adds greatly to the realism. The film was made in 1966 only four years after the Algerian War finished. Once again, I think that making a film in the actual location the war took place, so close after the event is probably another reason that the film feels so real.