Podcast

This is a résumé and my point of view about the first podcast ! 

Marie 

Movies news November 3rd 2013

Hi guys !

I come back to tell you the last gossips from Hollywood…

So, we learnt this week something about the Peter Jackson’s casting in The Lord of Rings. Indeed, several famous actors applied to play in the film. Among these actors we can find Daniel Day-Lewis to play Aragorn and Jake Gyllenhaal to play Frodo. The latter admitted to having been auditioning but he didn’t that I had to do it in a British accent. He failed the audition and Elijah Wood was finally chosen.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/30/jake-gyllenhaal-lord-of-the-rings_n_4178546.html#slide=2489713

We can still speak about Jake Gyllenhaal (Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Prisoners). May be have you seen one picture of him scrawny with long brown hair? Don’t worry! There's no need to worry. His physical transformation attracts the attention these last weeks, but it’s just for his next film, Nightcrawler, written and directed by Dan Gilroy. He will play a journalist, a crime specialist who discovers the dark side of Los Angeles. To become more persuasive and to go into the role, he decided to lose around 20 pounds…

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/23/showbiz/movies/jake-gyllenhaal-weight-loss-nightcrawler/

Now, I have to speak about a staggering film: Gravity, the last film from Alfonso Cuaron with George Clooney and Sandra Bullock. Maybe have you already seen this movie? So, what do you think about it? Personally, I didn’t want to watch this film. I thought that it’s a movie about space, with science fiction… STOP IT ! It’s real human adventure! It’s the story of two US astronauts stranded in space after their space shuttle is crippled by high-orbiting debris. You have to watch this film in 3D that gives the impression that we are in space with the two astronauts. This film is visually a wonder, but not only, it brings a thought about the life, anguish, bereavement.. 

The film is predicted to win an Oscar in 2014… Coming up next!

http://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2013/aug/29/oscars-2014-gravity-sandra-bullock-george-clooney

Astrid

Podcast #2

Here is our second and last podcast, enjoy it !

Apollo 18

Hi everybody, this week let met talk you about an other movie, a different kind one, its name is Apollo 18. This is an american-canadian science-fiction / horror movie produced by Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego in 2011. It has a budget of 5 millions dollars (not too much for this kind of movie) and generated 25 millions dollars on the box office which is great. It last about 80 minutes.

I have to say right now, it's an onboard camera movie, this sub gender of cinema is really controversial because it can be misused (Cloverfield for example) or launch a strong feeling of anxiety and proximity with characters, even realistic terror (Cannibal Holocaust). For Apollo 18, I can say it's a bit of both.

This wrong documentary is based in the Apollo 18 mission who was cancelled for budgetary reasons in 1970. The movie support however that the mission was conducted secretly, by sending three cosmonauts with the official mission is to install monitoring equipment against russians, but informally to collect “moon stones”. So the movie take its time with the moon landing and the installation and here come “the stressful elevator”, it means a series of shady events which put characters and spectators uncomfortable (moves, unknown footsteps, radio cuts...). The discover of a russian module with blood everywhere does not help the nerves of our brave astronauts.

I must wait the half of the movie to envisage an extraterrestrial theory since where some critters appears by the way of fast plans. The situation degrades slowly but surely ; characters start a psychological descent, with one of the cosmonaut which, of course, is contaminated and goes crazy. The situation need now drastic decisions and our poor spacemen will try to go back on Earth, but the NASA refuses of course by risks of infection and prefer let them rot in space.

Unfortunately the end stay predictable with a conspiracy theory, to the effect that the government was aware since the beginning and send them there as testers.

Finally the movie finish with a scene which honors men of this program, and which try to make us believe that the government lies in the entire story supported by the website “lunartruth.com” (The problem is that it's only a promotional website for the movie)

To talk a bit much about the production, the onboard camera principle can be good or not, but in this movie, a wrong documentary, it was necessary to be realistic because there is no doubt that Apollo missions don't bring a whole producing crew, so the only way were the onboard camera.

It is still efficient, with a general montage of black and white plans of poor quality to comfort the realism. Moreover, transitions are a bit sudden but it's not a big deal. The special effects are correct, the infection is not that bad even if the enemies are not really convincing (but don't worry, we don't see them too much). I also noticed the use of flashes as lights, a great tool, even if the saga Saw already popularised it.

Then, the actor performance is really correct, I didn't pour liters of tears, but at least I didn't break my TV because of bad role play. Concerning the characters, those one have a realistic behavior in general, keep their calm in good professional, observe their environment, draw objectives conclusions and finally decide to sacrifice themselves when they feel their end arrive.

To conclude, as I already said, a sympathetic wrong documentary on Apollo 18 mission, well manage in the beginning (omnipresent suspense and intelligent characters for once). But the end stay too predictable with a hype of the conspiracy theory towards the government. It's a kind of Blair Witch Project in space, i'm not shouting at the miracle but either at the crap.

I will give a 4 out of 10 for this movie not as bad as we can think. 

Valentin 

Sport movies !

On the occasion of the release of the movie: “Rush” (which deals with the duel between James Hunt and Niki Lauda in F1), I suggest you guys, some sports movies to be seen.

I was inspired by the following press article: http://www.businessinsider.com/rush-movie-what-critics-are-saying-2013-9

It is full of critics about the movie: “But what is getting critics revved up about this movie is the depiction of the rivalry between the drivers along with the up-close and personal touch to the way racing scenes are filmed.”

Rush is Ron Howard’s movie. It deals with the duel between two stars for the conquest of the championship’s F1 of the world, in 1976. With this movie we are in the center of the world pilot family, embodied by two pilots with strong personality…. Along the story we’ll see their love stories, their confrontation on the track and the dramatic accident of Lauda during Grand prix of Germany on August 1st, 1976.

First movie I select for you is « Ali » (2002). Michael Mann tells the life of Ali from 1964 till 1974, since his first world title until his fight against George Foreman. It is as the same time a movie about boxers but and also about America unsettled because of racism.

Second film « Million dollar baby » (2004), it must ring you a bell as it is the most recent one. It is a Clint Eastwood’s movie. It is Maggie Fitzgerald’s story, a young boxer in search of glory and coached by an ex champion. This movie shows the obsession of the success, the habits of the US society and the euthanasia.

Then, “The Wrestler” dated of 2008. By filming the pathetic efforts of an ex star of the wrestling which starts again after two decades of alcoholism, Daren Aronofsky offers us a deeply movie which presents the reality of US.

The last movie is a French one entitled « Le vélo de Ghislain Lambert » (2001). Native of Belgium, Ghislain Lambert (Benoît Poelvoorde) was born at the same day as the major Eddie Merckx (cyclist), but both of them will have a different fate. But he already thinks to be the idol of the cyclist team. The director, Philippe Harel restores the seventies atmosphere of the Belgian bike.

Now guys, I’m waiting for your point of view regarding sport movies. Girls, do you like them? For me, sport movies are more for boys, aren’t they? Do you think sport movies have a place among cinema?  

Marie 

The notebook

Hello everybody !

The last week I was talking about the movie “Eat, Pray, Love”, based on a book. This week, I would to speak about one of my favorite movies of this “love-category”, which is also based on a book. It is not very known, that’s why I want you to discover it, and I want make you want to see ! So you have to remember the title, please !! 

THE NOTEBOOK

Nicholas Sparks has written this story. Four of his books have been adapted for the cinema, for instance Message in a bottle, or Dear John, more recently (which I recommend too!). With him, you are sure to find all the ingredients that a love story needs, well balanced.

The Notebook, (“N’oublie jamais” in French), directed by Nick Cassavettes in 2004, has a real scenario, it is not a simple love story already seen and reviewed. Duke (James Garner), a resident of a nursing home is reading a story to an other resident (Gena Rowlands) reached to Alzheimer. Every day, he tells her the story of Allie (Rachel MacAdams), rich heiress, and Noah (Ryan Gosling), who is just a simple worker. Actually, she has recorded her own story, when she learns her disease…

We are in 1940, and the Hamilton come to Seabrook for the holidays. Allie will meet Noah there, it was the 6^th June 1940, at the carnival. Immediately, they fall in love. They will spend most of their time together, during the summer. They fight constantly and they are constantly testing but, despite their differences, they have one thing in common : they are crazy about each other. But the family of Allie disagree with that, and her mother forbade her to see Noah, because of his situation…Then, it’s time to leave for her … Noah will write letters to her for one year, 365 letters exactly. But she will never have its. After years of separation, at the end of the war, Allie gets ready to marry a lawyer. When she learns by the newspaper the return of Noah …

Now, if you are a little bit curious and if you want two hours of pleasure and entertainment, you just have to watch this movie, trust me !!! I am waiting for your comments and your feelings !

Floriane

Trainspotting !

Hi everyone!!!

Today I’m going to talk about the movie Trainspotting. 

Maybe some of you know this one and others don’t, so let me introduce it.

Well, Trainspotting is drama by Danny Boyle, made in 1996.

                                     

This movie relates the adventures of Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor knows for Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars), a junkie in Edinburgh who tries to split up with his friends. They are bad influence on him.

This group is marginal and addict to heroine. Mark sees his situation and is the one of his friends with lots of discernment. They commit some infraction and try to survive in a drug universe.

The soundtracks of this movie are very famous. Singers are reputed as Lou Reed or Iggy Pop and there are also pop songs from Pulp or Blur.

Moreover, there are two albums for Trainspotting, one with all songs present in the movie and another, which is a blending between songs in the film and songs doing inspiration. One of the songs that inspired Danny Boyle is the famous Passenger of Iggy Pop.

The movie received a really nice critic with 89 % of them very favourable. The adaptation the book of Irvine Welsh knew a real success. The malaise of which the young Scots suffer is painted with lots of realism. Though the life with drugs, the movie combines black humour and horror with lots of off-the-wall humour.

I like this movie; I think it takes part of the most unavoidable movies. The story has a really meaning and I like the blending between comedy and black humour. Then, soundtracks are just so cool and it takes an important place for the pace of the movie.

Hélène