OK, so I haven't actually seen Avatar (2009) but I just can't bring myself to go anywhere near it, so strong are my feelings against this film I've never seen that I actually laughed out loud when I heard that Hurt Locker (2009) beat it to win Best Film at the Oscars last night. I've just never been into CGI and 'out of this world' adventures - they don't push my buttons, never have and - if it carries on this way - never will.
I know that I was loving Alien in my last blog, but the reality is there wasn't much of the film that didn't focus purely on the relationships between the human residents of the spaceship.
And if Hurt Locker's success teaches us anything - apart from the fact that women can in fact direct movies - it's that there is plenty going on down here without us bothering our neighbours in the solar system. The Iraq war film won six awards in all (Best Picture, Directing (Kathryn Bigelow), Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Writing (Original Screenplay)) and saw Bigelow as the first ever woman to receive the award for Best Director, beating ex-husband James Cameron in the process. Other big winners included Precious (2009), the story of a young girl abused by her parents and Crazy Heart (2009), which features Jeff Bridges as a faded country singer.
You only have to look in the newspapers and magazines everyday to realise that there are a million real-life stories waiting to be turned into a motion picture, or at least capable of inspiring one. But I wonder if, with the advances that 3D is making in cinemas worldwide, the likes of Universal, 20th Century Fox and Disney are focusing more on the visual potential of a film than its' actual story. Again I haven't seen Avatar but from what I've heard and read the visuals are next to nothing whilst the script and storyline are just nothing. Is this really the way that our film industry is going?
Quite frankly the more that I read about 3D and HD, the less inclined I am to even go to the cinema - it's worth noting that the purchase of equipment to screen such films is the reason ticket prices are soaring - which is a massive shame. But with the hopefuls for next year's Oscars already released perhaps there is hope for the coming year...
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/2008-12-11-awards-campaign-2009/posts/oscar-2011-begins-at-sundance-with-kids-are-all-right-and-cyrus
Showing posts with label Alien. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alien. Show all posts
Monday, 8 March 2010
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
He's behind you!
Ever the cynic when it comes to the films of the '70s and '80s I eyed Alien (1979) with great distain. However having made the ultimate relationship faux pas of saying 'you decide', this is what we spent our Saturday afternoon watching.
I was told 'this is what horror should be like all the time, trust me you're going to love it!' Yes dear, that's what you told me about wasabe...
Still, in my quest to broaden my horizons I obliged and I have to say it wasn't half bad. I've never been one for a horror movie, notably due to my incredibly weak stomach when it comes to blood and gore but I could see what he meant by how a real horror should be - absolutely shit scary!
The difference between this and the likes of Saw (2004) and Hostel (2005) is that the horror isn't in the endless gorefest but rather the use of narrative, music and unbearable tension. We only see the alien a few times throughout the film and yet as an audience you are constantly aware of its presence, hovering over the spaceship's crew as their numbers continue to dwindle. The only time we actually saw the alien kill anyone was when it exploded out of John Hurt's stomach (I say 'we saw', more everybody else saw, I just listened from behind the cushion!) and that was enough to imply the fate of the rest of its victims.
What I suppose I will have to admit is that this film has made me question my attitude towards the older film. Although the SFX were questionable - the falling alien at the end looked suspiciously like a man in a Godzilla costume - this was a horror film which I enjoyed and would say was justified in the guts and gore that it showed.
I was told 'this is what horror should be like all the time, trust me you're going to love it!' Yes dear, that's what you told me about wasabe...
Still, in my quest to broaden my horizons I obliged and I have to say it wasn't half bad. I've never been one for a horror movie, notably due to my incredibly weak stomach when it comes to blood and gore but I could see what he meant by how a real horror should be - absolutely shit scary!
The difference between this and the likes of Saw (2004) and Hostel (2005) is that the horror isn't in the endless gorefest but rather the use of narrative, music and unbearable tension. We only see the alien a few times throughout the film and yet as an audience you are constantly aware of its presence, hovering over the spaceship's crew as their numbers continue to dwindle. The only time we actually saw the alien kill anyone was when it exploded out of John Hurt's stomach (I say 'we saw', more everybody else saw, I just listened from behind the cushion!) and that was enough to imply the fate of the rest of its victims.
What I suppose I will have to admit is that this film has made me question my attitude towards the older film. Although the SFX were questionable - the falling alien at the end looked suspiciously like a man in a Godzilla costume - this was a horror film which I enjoyed and would say was justified in the guts and gore that it showed.
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