Cinema Paradiso - with Chloe Hanslip playing Solo Violin
Henry V (1941) - Score by William Walton
Laurence Olivier
Sir Richard Roger Bennett - Proms Dedicated to it being his Birthday/Anniversary of something...
Did music for Murder on the Orient Express, Directed by Sidney Lumet
Johnny Greenwood (from Radiohead) composed music for 'Norwegian Wood'
Out of Africa (John Barry)
The Good the Bad and the Ugly - a particularly rousing rendition as a Finale to the evening!
Monday, 15 August 2011
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Any Human Heart (2010) - Television Series
Found this four-parter thoroughly captivating when it was aired on Channel 4 around November 2010.
Played out like a dramatisation of a social experiment: the charting of one's entire lifetime. Intrigue was further reinforced by background reading up on it (on Wikipedia), which stated something along the lines of how 'the drama essentially explores the idea that throughout our lives, we may as well be played by different people, for while our innate sense of character and sensibility is always the same, our circumstances, situations, contexts and relationships are different, at different times in our life's progression' - or words to that effect...
I think the series was deliberately/strategically aired in the wake of Channel 4's recent 'Pillars of the Earth', capitalising on the exposure of the protagonists Matthew Macfayden (Frost/Nixon) and Hayley Atwell (Captain America [2011] and year above me at the same Sixth Form!), who feature prominently in Any Human Heart. And I have to admit that in the absence of Pillars, I was lured into this, still having an appetite for epic, ambitious drama productions.
There was also the exposure in the Radio Times Magazine that month, and Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge, Another Year) adding further credibility. I was sold.
Sure, alot of the situations of the primary protagonist Logan Mountstuart (played by Matthew Macfayden, Jim Broadbent amongst others) are unashamedly contrived: from the politics and anarchy of Thactcher's Britain, to encounters with Ian Flemming, the Duchess of York (with the Prince of Wales), and prominent writers of the 20th Century. But I identified alot with the character, the contexts and the situations which made it engaging viewing.
I would say the story breaks down into three primary sections (by the dramatisation anyway). The first felt like 'Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events', or unfortunate choices driven by hedonism. The second part, a heart-wrenching love story, the third part, a more contemplative revelatory episode.
Fascinating, captivating, fantastically ridiculous and contrived in parts (like any decent James Bond movie), yet consistently evocative, poetic, and thought-provoking - all at the same time. Stand-out turns from Macfayden, Atwell and Broadbent.
Definitely one for the DVD collection, loved it!
Played out like a dramatisation of a social experiment: the charting of one's entire lifetime. Intrigue was further reinforced by background reading up on it (on Wikipedia), which stated something along the lines of how 'the drama essentially explores the idea that throughout our lives, we may as well be played by different people, for while our innate sense of character and sensibility is always the same, our circumstances, situations, contexts and relationships are different, at different times in our life's progression' - or words to that effect...
I think the series was deliberately/strategically aired in the wake of Channel 4's recent 'Pillars of the Earth', capitalising on the exposure of the protagonists Matthew Macfayden (Frost/Nixon) and Hayley Atwell (Captain America [2011] and year above me at the same Sixth Form!), who feature prominently in Any Human Heart. And I have to admit that in the absence of Pillars, I was lured into this, still having an appetite for epic, ambitious drama productions.
There was also the exposure in the Radio Times Magazine that month, and Jim Broadbent (Moulin Rouge, Another Year) adding further credibility. I was sold.
Sure, alot of the situations of the primary protagonist Logan Mountstuart (played by Matthew Macfayden, Jim Broadbent amongst others) are unashamedly contrived: from the politics and anarchy of Thactcher's Britain, to encounters with Ian Flemming, the Duchess of York (with the Prince of Wales), and prominent writers of the 20th Century. But I identified alot with the character, the contexts and the situations which made it engaging viewing.
I would say the story breaks down into three primary sections (by the dramatisation anyway). The first felt like 'Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events', or unfortunate choices driven by hedonism. The second part, a heart-wrenching love story, the third part, a more contemplative revelatory episode.
Fascinating, captivating, fantastically ridiculous and contrived in parts (like any decent James Bond movie), yet consistently evocative, poetic, and thought-provoking - all at the same time. Stand-out turns from Macfayden, Atwell and Broadbent.
Definitely one for the DVD collection, loved it!
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Mongol: The Rise to Power of Genghis Khan (2008)
From some notes I wrote on a scrap piece of paper a couple of years ago:
- Feels like a documentary.
- A mix between: King Arthur/Frank Miller's 300/Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
- We get the impression that there's an attempt to tell an authentic story.
- Violence is stylish, graphic, almost glorified to make it look cool.
- Cinematpgraphy has an Eastern setting, an attempt to explore relationships and their complexities.
The ingredients are there for an epic scope.
Felt there was a lot missing, jolted and jarring perspectives.
A comparison with Dances with Wolves...
Rating: 7.5/10
- Feels like a documentary.
- A mix between: King Arthur/Frank Miller's 300/Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
- We get the impression that there's an attempt to tell an authentic story.
- Violence is stylish, graphic, almost glorified to make it look cool.
- Cinematpgraphy has an Eastern setting, an attempt to explore relationships and their complexities.
The ingredients are there for an epic scope.
Felt there was a lot missing, jolted and jarring perspectives.
A comparison with Dances with Wolves...
Rating: 7.5/10
Monday, 3 January 2011
From Infamous to Sucker Punch!
Recently completed the PS3 Game 'Infamous' by the production company Sucker Punch...
Made me think about it being a possible influence on Zack Snyder on his new movie out this year!...
Made me think about it being a possible influence on Zack Snyder on his new movie out this year!...
Sunday, 12 December 2010
Degrees of Separation: Bette Midler to Angelina Jolie
A game that me and my sis play.
- Bette Midler starred in Hocus Pocus (1993) alongside Kathy Najimy.
- Kathy Jajimy was the loud, larger-than-life Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act (1992), which also starred Whoopi Goldberg.
- Whoopi Goldberg was in Made in America (1993) with Will Smith.
- Will Smith was in Wild Wild West (1999) with Salma Hayek.
- Salma Hayek was in From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) with George Clooney.
- George Clooney was in Ocean's Eleven (2001) with Brad Pitt.
- Brad Pitt was in Mr and Mrs Smith (2005) with Angelina Jolie
Alternatively, another route I thought of a couple of days later:
- Bette Midler starred in Hocus Pocus (1993) alongside Kathy Najimy.
- Kathy Jajimy was the loud, larger-than-life Sister Mary Patrick in Sister Act (1992), with Harvey Keitel.
- Harvey Keitel was in Thelma and Louise (1991) which had a young Brad Pitt.
- Brad Pitt was in Mr and Mrs Smith (2005) with Angelina Jolie.
Monday, 6 December 2010
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