Out of the Water and Into the Groove

On Thursday I saw Lina Wertmüller's steamy, sensuous Swept Away, several months after watching Madonna and Guy Ritchie's 2002 attempts to revive it. A skewed approach, I know, but in an attempt to illustrate how the two compare, I've split the films up into six elements and given my opinion on which film has the edge. Let the bout begin!

Round One: Lina Wertmüller Vs. Guy Ritchie

In pinpointing just how beastly Raffaela is, and the contempt she generates within Gennarino, the two have different visual approaches. Wertmüller's feels much more natural in its flair, the camera almost acting as a vulture circling the boat, antagonising and constructing their relationship as politically and socially poles apart, but uniting them somehow in their volatility. The further Gennarino strays from Rafaella the easier it is to see their underlying similarities, finely orchestrated in a late-night scene in which they are alone on deck. Metres apart from each other their temperament is placid, comfortable and contented, their eye-contact good, but there is no attempt (and almost a fear) to bridge this gap, almost as if they will explode when breaching a certain level of proximity.

By contrast, Ritchie's way of expressing their mutual resentment of each other seems to rely more on rhythm and pace, using its jazzy-continental score (which reminded me a lot of 80's TV theme-tunes) to create quite a light and successfully comic tone to the first half of the film. As time goes on however, it's clear that Richie has a rather romanticised view of Swept Away, which isn't necessarily wrong but is a limited one compared with Wertmüller's attempts years earlier. Ritchie's flashy moments of direction come with beach clinches and melodramatic displays of affection, and a moment that rivals Match Point's over-the-top slow-motion ring sequence. Wertmüller is able to implore a lot more visual mood into her version, and with an extra twenty-five minutes of running time, feels much more in control of her film than Guy does.

Result: Lina Wertmüller

Round Two: Mariangela Melato Vs. Madonna

Whichever language Wertmüller's Swept Away gets dubbed in there's no way it can be mistaken for anything other than an Italian film. Mariangela Melato's Raffaela is a fiery vixen of a woman: a right wing monster, a ruthless, power-hungry socialite, a sexual inferno. Her journey from riches to emotional tatters and primordial back-to-basics is a sensational arc to behold, and that's because of Melato's unflinching charisma and passion. Her dramatics are always so watchable, and as a woman who has spent the first half of the film being horrendous, her about-turn feels convincing in the context of Raffaela and Gennarino's tempestuous relationship. A major, major feat.

But what of Madonna? Well, where to begin? I have a lot of sympathy for her as an Actress. Her daring, knows-no-bounds attitude works well with music, but when attempting to re-create a role that a) has been done so well before, b) has always been trashy, c) is completely unsympathetic, and d) is actually incredibly complex, was inevitably going to bring her a lot of stick. I'm sure the fact that she's Italian-born, and was a teenager at the time of the original release, had a lot to do with Ritchie making the film in the first place, and in theory, the rich diva role could be something she's well-suited to. But after seeing the original a lot of the performance feels more like whining mimicry than inherent power struggle. Her Amber seems more of a pouting fake, a calculating shallow shrew, than someone capable of being psychologically turned inside-out. If Madonna's Swept Away had kept to its original ending then this could perhaps be more of an understandable acting move, but as it turns out, it makes their love story a perplexing and altogether less genuine commodity.

Result: Mariangela Melato

Round Three: Giancarlo Giannini Vs. Adriano Giannini

Like father, like son. Unsurprisingly, this pair is the most difficult to separate, as essentially their genes speak for themselves, but there are a couple of crucial things the young pretender does not possess. One of these is raw, neanderthal sexual necessity. Adriano has a better body than his father did in 1974, but it doesn't matter. A clinical, chiseled physique works against Adriano in the sense that it doesn't feel like the natural, manly, uncaring brute that Gennarino is, and despite being an adonis to lust over, you don't get the impression that he'd ravage you anywhere near as lustfully as Giancarlo's predatory prowess indicates.

Result: Giancarlo Giannini

Round Four: 1974 Sex Vs. 2002 Sex

A similar story to comparing the men, really. 2002's version sees two beautiful people (perhaps too beautiful?) writhing around in sexual fulfillment, but lacks the bite of the original. What made the sex in Wertmüller's original so erotically charged was that it was both angry and lusty, whereas Madonna and Adriano's encounters, while arousing, are all a bit (for lack of a better word) pretty. What I will say for the remake is that its sex scenes are incredibly well-shot (adhering to the fervent romanticism of Ritchie to which I earlier referred) which when considering the original is high praise indeed.

Result: 1974 Sex

Round Five: 1974 Politics Vs. 2002 Politics

This is where I feel very let down by Guy Ritchie. Watching the remake before the original was in some ways a mistake, but was also quite enlightening when comparing the two. I didn't get the psychology behind the characters because Ritchie makes an effort to whittle and dumb everything down to a trashy love story, rather than showing off the attractive Italian passion evident in 1974. The characters debate communism, fascism, marxism, and really possesses a social consciousness that gives the extremes of Rafaella and Gennarino's relationship a political edge and subsequently a comprehendable dynamic. If you're planning on watching the two films, please opt for the original first.

Result: 1974 Politics

Round Six: 1974 Ending Vs. 2002 Ending

Warning: Spoilers!

The feeling you're left with after watching Raffaela fly off in a helicopter, unable to bring herself to be the Lady that runs off with the common sailor, is a wretched one. It feels natural to want a film to have this sweeping fairy-tale ending but in actual fact the film makes so much more sense (in terms of society, politics, holiday romances themselves) than riding off into the sunset ever would have done, and so I salute Wertmüller for a harsh ending that I imagine didn't go down all that well at the time. Something tells me that Madonna herself probably didn't like the idea of that ending, and creative licence sees 2002's Swept Away get carried away with romance a little too much. It can't bring itself to kick Gennarino to the curb fully, and instead kicks them both to the curb by having them both mistakenly think that the other cannot go through with the romance. A sinking ring, and frankly a sinking moment in an otherwise passable remake.

Result: 1974 Ending

Overall Score: 6 - 0 (A landslide)

Guy Ritchie's Swept Away may be inferior in every aspect but please don't let this put you off watching it. It's an alright imitation of an excellent, excellent film. Misguided but admirable, and one of Madonna's better performances, not that that's saying much I know.

1974 Version - A

2002 Version - C+

R.I.P Paul Newman [1925-2008]

Girls A-Live

However much I love Girls Aloud I wasn't expecting this to turn into a "celebrate the music of Girls Aloud" week on the blog. Not content with having them as my hottest track this week I just have to link you to the live lounge they did for Radio 1 this morning. They sing both The Promise and a cover of Apologise by One Republic & Timabaland. They're both awesome performances. Enjoy.

Here you can see a video of them singing Apologise, and listen to a recording of the entire session.

Scroll to 2:14 for The Promise

Scroll to 2:38 for interview and Apologise

Another Brick in the Wall

Eden Lake (2008)

Directed by James Watkins

Starring: Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Jack O'Connell

Grade: C -

For you non-Brits, the topic of "What to do about our pesky teenagers, and their relaxed attitude to physical violence?" is a particularly hot one in the country right now. Eden Lake, a British production, spawns from such debate, and so the basic premise of the film is that a young couple, away for a romantic weekend, find themselves on the wrong end of a violent dispute with a gang of tearaway youths. You might think I reviewed this film a couple of weeks ago but no. While The Strangers was a classy crafted genre-gem, Eden Lake has much bigger things on its mind, and isn't afraid to let everyone know it.

It's quite obvious from the outset that Eden Lake knows exactly what it wants to say and won't stop until its said it. Car-radio debates about the problems of youth in today's society fill the eerie opening credits; a precursor to the violent events that unfold, and the film's desire to confront the issue in gung-ho mode is an admirable one. But Eden Lake's bandwagon-jumping often feels like the intrusive, impetuous commentary of filmmakers with passion but little understanding of how to build a convincing narrative around this passion. Indeed, the problem is that as such a politically-divisive piece, the film is first and foremost a social demonstration and secondarily a gritty thriller. Every eventuality (whether it be a chase, hiding place, violent sequence, stumble) feels like it's been copied from, and done better in, other films.

It isn't as if Eden Lake doesn't attempt to get inside its characters, or show us why they might do the things they do. There are thoughtful glimpses into, particularly, the most volatile and disturbed member of the young group. The character of Brett (outstandingly played by Jack O'Connell) is very much the leader of events, and attempting to display and allude to the reasons behind his anger and instability works for the film's message about young people and crime. But the reason Eden Lake gave me a major headache was the treatment of its would-be protagonists (couple Steve and Jenny), who act frankly rather stupidly at times, and on more than one occasion are responsible for orchestrating their own downfall. It feels as if the filmmakers are working from a couple of plot points -- incidentally based solely around the youths and delivering the message of the film -- and the rest is left to part-cliche, part-mess, in which we have no idea as to the scope of Eden Lake as a location and its endless, tiresome expanse of forestry.

It's difficult. I agree with a lot of what Eden Lake tries to say, and ultimately cannot fail to say. But when you have a small checklist and ninety minutes of running time to fill, things can easily become bogged down. Eden Lake is predictable after the first thirty, loses grip in the second thirty, and finally falls apart in a finale that's effective, haunting, and probably plausible, but by the time it comes around feels well on the way to its second dose of overkill.

Hottest Track: Girls Aloud - The Promise

This Sex Is On Fire...

It's about time. Finally, here is the trailer for headline-grabbing, Titanic re-uniting, major Oscar buzzing Revolutionary Road. One of the most famous romantic pairings captured on celluloid, Winslet and Di Caprio, return, and the chemistry is still RED HOT. Yummy-looking love scenes littered throughout it appears that instead of a sinking ship to contend with, restless suburbia is the thing getting this particular relationship down. I have to admit that this hardly seems a jolly time at the cinema, and it's a bit of a repetitive trailer all-in-all, but I suppose trailers don't win Oscars. Let's wait and see.

The Barrymore Case

Oscar's Supporting Actress category is a funny one, isn't it? While quabbles and analyses on this topic are better left to the master of said category, two recent blockbuster rentals have collectively compelled me to lodge a few comments regarding a couple of bewildering inclusions on the Academy shortlist, both involving the same woman.

The first of these films is Robert Siodmak's The Spiral Staircase, a gothic-style thriller about a serial killer who preys on girls with disabilities. Although there's plenty of dramatic flair about the proceedings the nature of the story (six people in a house seemingly waiting for the threat of death to besiege them) reads as very uninspired. Add to that a frustratingly vague old woman and a romance that stutters but never really starts and that's pretty much that. A film much too reliant upon its thrilling aesthetics.

The other film is Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case, which begins with a woman arrested for the murder of her blind husband, and eventually leads to her trial, conducted by lawyer Gregory Peck, who himself is smitten with the alleged murderess. What struck me most about the film is its resounding feminist stance -- a point which I realise is contradictory of Hitchcock's reputation in general, but one that nevertheless is undoubtedly valid. Essentially though, The Paradine Case is very predictable, and, similarly to The Spiral Staircase doesn't really have enough avenues in its narrative borough to sustain interest.

The comparisons between the two are evident. Each of their titles ends in "case", both are forties pictures -- 1945 and 1947 respectively -- and each of them are essentially about murder. But their sole Oscar nominations, both for Supporting Actress Ethel Barrymore, is the comparison I want to discuss.

In Staircase Barrymore is that frustratingly vague old woman to which I earlier referred. As bed-ridden Mrs. Warren she writhes like an elephant on a trampoline for most of the film, pausing only to utter clairvoyant-style comments about the serial killer or death in general and to spit scathing insults at her bemused staff. She plays to her status as a mysterious know-all with uncertainty and quite erratically, to the point where I started to question just why she's in the film at all. This becomes clearer in Staircase's final moments; her role in a dramatic conclusion surely the nomination-winner, even if the scene itself feels like a chilli atop a blancmange.

But for Barrymore's kick-ass moment her nomination would be for very little indeed, but there are no kick-ass moments in her Paradine Case turn, which makes Beatrice Straight's efforts in Network look titanic. As wife of Laughton's grumpy judge, she features in just three scenes (only two of which she speaks), which equates to a meagre four minutes of screen time. Her contribution in these few moments comprises mainly of a scene at the very end, in which she's berated by her husband for showing compassion towards a questionable figure. This, coupled with an earlier scene which marks her as slightly loopy (if totally unrelatable and again, erratic), tars her with the sympathy brush. But the role is such a non-statement, and the performance isn't even memorable in an over-the-top sense, altogether constituting probably the least amount of ability I've seen in an Oscar-nominated performance.

I don't intend to be so mean about Ethel Barrymore. These two performances represent my only view of a very reputable Actress, and certainly a very limited one at that, but as nominated performances they really don't cut the mustard. So how did they make the shortlist? In The Spiral Staircase Barrymore's role has a bit of bait, but not compared to Dorothy McGuire's mute lead role. Despite being lead this could easily have managed a place in the Supp Actress lineup (think Patty Duke's shocking category fraud as a disabled girl in The Miracle Worker), and is backed up by a comic turn from Hermione Baddeley which has got more going for it than Barrymore's stiff upper-lip. The only two explanations I can possibly give for her Paradine nod is that:-

• A) It was a weak year, and the fact that it ended in "case" reminded them that they'd thought her worthy before.

• B) That this piece of information (taken from IMDB Trivia) holds the key:-

In Hitchcock's rough cut and 131 minutes version, Ethel Barrymore can be seen as a half-crazed wife of Lord Horfield played by Charles Laughton. But David O. Selznick removed these scenes in the final editing and the final runtime was only 114 minutes.

Does anyone know if the Academy were screened the rough cut of The Paradine Case? Wouldn't this explain why they valued Barrymore's performance and thought it substantial enough to nominate?

Hmm....

Hottest Track: VV Brown - Crying Blood

Without doubt one of the catchiest songs I've heard in years! Enjoy!

93. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)

Directed by Sydney Pollack

Starring: Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Gig Young, Susannah York, Red Buttons

As it states at the beginning of the trailer to Sydney Pollack's They Shoot Horses Don't They?, people are the ultimate spectacle. Jane Fonda's Gloria wants to be part of a spectacle, travelling to Hollywood in the hope of becoming an actress. All she gets is a place in a marathon dance contest, offering the top prize of $1,500 in the midst of depression-era America.

This isn't the first film to be critical of the 'American dream' and it sure as hell won't be the last, but you'll be hard-pushed to find one so unevenly extreme in its treatment of an aspiring young breed of characters. The participants of the contest live through the cheapened descent that entertainment has undergone, their health, tolerance, and strength sapped with every waltz and jive. It's admittedly more suffering than you're likely to see on television nowadays but there are interesting parallels to reality-TV and talent shows that crush ambitious youngsters all too easily.

A recent first viewing of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? brought this film back to the forefront of my mind. As well as both being titular questions they each feature long sequences of testing character interaction, and as such are a real acting showcase. Horses garnered three acting nominations, and a Supporting Actor win for the devilishly handsome Gig Young. Young is excellent, but the real standout is Jane Fonda, in what is my favourite performance of hers. The ever-charismatic star is the character who really gauges the political situation, and understands that the contest is indicative of this. Her character's apparent awareness of Horses' themes yet inability to rise above the entire debacle the biggest tragedy, Fonda's Gloria reads like a fame-hungry gambler that just can't stop. But the question remains as to whether her fate is a tragic one, or a perverse victory. Watch it, and decide for yourself.

Hottest Track: Laura Marling - Night Terror

The Strangers (Bertino, 2008)

The Strangers

Directed by Bryan Bertino

Starring: Liv Tyler, Scott Speedman, Glenn Howerton

Grade: B+

There are many things that can dismantle a relationship. From the moment Kristen McKay (Tyler) and James Hoyt (Speedman) fade into vision through a rain-splattered car windscreen, it's apparent things aren't too cosy at the inn. That this should come after an opening narration about the authenticity of the events on show and a recording of a frantic 911 call (effectively two immediate disruptions) unsettles without the main characters ever having spoken a word. It's a sign of things to come for The Strangers, which continually takes you out of your comfort zone. As unrelenting and merciless as the 'strangers' themselves.

As for the 'strangers', their cameo is a slow, drawn-out one, and is as much an intrusion on the couple's relationship as it is a threat to their lives. Upon return rose petals and champagne are greeted with tension and disdain; a proposal shunned, a celebration tempered, and so what's interrupted is more frosty fall-out than suburban bliss. To the film's credit, as danger is foisted upon them the couple never overtly put their issues to bed, and there's resistance to explore their tiff any further, itself perhaps serving as a statement that bad things don't always have to happen to the happiest of people.

When it becomes clear that they aren't the only ones on their wooded expanse is when The Strangers is at its level best. Containing some of the sharpest sound-work I've ever seen in a horror film it playfully and torturously terrifies; whether it be banging, scraping, shooting, vocalwork, and even the use of existing folk tracks in the film, which linger for what seems like an eternity at times. Director Bertino gets the tension all right, escaping the tedium of suspense that plagues many modern attempts at the genre, and creating a hella scary experience that on more than one occasion made me want to dive into a cushion and put my fingers in my ears. It evokes such a sickening feeling that the mere presence of weapons at all feels unnecessary; it's cold, clinical, life-sucking atmosphere an awesomely effective exercise likely to render you empty and shaken.

There are always moments in a slasher film you wish you could change, and protagonist's decisions that are frankly rather difficult to comprehend. There's never a manual about how to survive such an attack, but if there were, Kristen and James have got it at least the right way up. They don't remain exempt from queries about decision-making but crucially The Strangers acts quickly to limit their choices, and so when faced with the option of shouting and gesticulating at such stupidity, a despairing shrug seems more the appropriate option. It's fair to say, however, that Bertino does get a little too excited at times, and doesn't seem to know how accessible he wants to make the 'strangers' themselves, never showing their faces but making deliberate attempts to align them with 'normality'. I'd also like to have seen the initial 911 call pursued later in the film. There's never any reference to it in the attack, and its only purpose, as far as I can see, seems to be an aesthetic one.

I have difficulting condemning The Strangers for one or two errors/wild assumptions that horror films (especially of the slasher variety) are renowned for having, because as a dramatic sequence the movie is so wickedly punishing and wonderfully constructed. At one point in the film Liv Tyler's Kristen lights a cigarette. Stressed and terrified she potters about in the kitchen, oblivious to a masked 'stranger' standing just metres behind her. You know that the 'stranger' isn't going to touch Kristen but it doesn't matter. Time is frozen, and while our heroine numbs her tired brain in hope of rescuing a tired situation, we're no longer able to be with her. Now that's scary.

The General and I, But Why?

The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)

Directed by Frank Capra

Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Nils Asther, Walter Connolly

Grade: C

They say everyone loves a badboy. The danger. The excitement. I won't disagree. But Barbara Stanwyck's Megan, an American missionary embroiled in China's brutal civil war, has a lot to answer for her romantic tendencies. Beginning with the proposition of her impending marriage to Doctor and fellow missionary Robert Strife there's little strife to be seen in their relationship, but as they rush to the aid of a bunch of orphans they're separated, and after fainting Megan is transported to the palace of the morally-questionable General Yen, where she's kept against her will.

Nils Ather's Yen is an undeniable presence, and an intimidating one at that. His glare is potent, demeaning, and if the long-term reaction of Megan is anything to go by, a bewitching one as well. The film wastes no time in setting up its stall. This man is both brutal executioner and callous imprisoner, and clearly has a narrow knowledge of women, which altogether makes for a tumultuous relationship with our fleety forward-thinking heroine.

It's a similar premise to The King and I but much darker, and politically rather negative in truth, as Megan learns to respect and dare I say, love, a man that was so irreperably condemned in the first act. It would be perhaps easier to comprehend this evidently drastic about-turn had the film been able to detail their changing attitudes towards each other through more thoughtful means, instead opting to do this through the betrayal of the General's slave girl, a plot device that itself re-enforces much of the maligned political ideology of the General himself: women/liberalism as overly-caring, indecisive and weak, and men/imperialism as wise, strong, and a ruthless necessity.

The lasting memory of The Bitter Tea has to be in its finale, which details the success (or lack thereof) of the General himself. His downfall, at the fate of two women, has both re-percussions for himself and for Megan. While it would be fair to say that the elements regarding the civil war (token to say the least) are culturally all rather disinteresting, their relationship is not, but the finale only really adds to the confusion surrounding what they feel for each other and why. While her American lover waits in the wings Megan grieves for a man she's known but a week, and I couldn't begin to tell you what it is about him she'll miss.

Hottest Track: Dan Black - Hypntz

Madonna: 50 and Fabulous

Mini Review: Caged (1950)

Caged
Directed by John Cromwell
Starring: Eleanor Parker, Hope Emerson, Agnes Moorehead
Grade: B+

Courtesy of Goatdog (thanks, Mike) I was able to catch this great film about the many failures of the prison system. I mainly wanted to see this for Eleanor Parker's oscar-nominated performance, which I was unable to judge when I rounded up Oscar's 1950 Leading Ladies more than a few moons ago. After seeing it I'd probably place her a respectable fourth, given the incredible quality of the line-up, and she weighs up at about as good as Caged itself.

The best parts of Girl, Interrupted, a film admittedly not about prison but bearing similar themes, are a) the acting, and b) the way in which it's made. This is a similar story. Caged features a great ensemble, and its noir-era melodrama always works well in the film. However, it does seem a little too eager to state its message that the prison system creates criminals rather than reforms them (an admirable one I know -- especially for the era), and presents this very baldly. Not the worst crime in the world, but because there's so much the film can be admired for (brave themes, dark sequences, unsympathetic characters) it does act as a slight let-down.

Politically speaking it also gets to the brunt of why the prison system is the way it is, but the real key to Caged is its community, which feels united by necessity (against a thoroughly hideous prison warden) rather than any token need to create characters to root for. Parker's Marie gets immersed in this community, and despite her key moral shift not as incremental a process as I would have liked, is a believeable victim of her mistakes. Thus, Caged does its job.

The Folly of a Monster Love

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

Directed by Jonathan Levine

Starring: Amber Heard, Anson Mount, Michael Welch

Grade: B

Fans of teen slashers should look no further than All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, released earlier this year having been banded around the festival circuit since Toronto in 2006. Slasher flicks are hardly festival fare, but if Lane is to be compared to recent interpretations, such as Prom Night, earlier this year, and Rob Zombie's Halloween remake of 2007, it's with more than a degree of admiration.

Mandy Lane (Heard) is the object of randy-high-school-jock desire, turning heads with her beauty and crucially, her purity. While other girls show less grace and discretion Lane is the inpenetrable figure that everyone wants to penetrate. The good girl. The ultimate trophy. And while she glides around looking unfathomably pretty boys drop like flies at her feet (one literally, from a porch roof to a messy end) in acts of foolish devotion. So enter a boozy drug-fuelled weekend ranch party to mix things up, and in Texas Chainsaw Massacre style a Lane-obsessed psycopath to prey on her friends in typically merciless fashion.

While for a hefty chunk of its modest eighty minutes running time Lane remains a routine onslaught of teenage death below Mandy's towering pedastal of objectification, Jacob Forman's first script is both amusing and curious, linking all but Lane in a thinly-veiled high-school-clique way that does work as a group dynamic, if occasionally in a little too repetitive manner. The depiction of Lane as a shrinking violet though, as opposed to the naive Straight-A student so blatantly capable of being manoeuvred, is by far the most interesting element of the film. Heard's poutless lethargy borders on dull at times but rather than accept this as a fault of her's I think it more likely that this be part of the film's ironic twist that Mandy Lane was never worth pursuing in the first place.

In this type of film it's all too easy to iconise your title star as a person above all the others. While that may be true in terms of intelligence and beauty, Lane is not your typical heroine, and rather than scrap like your hapless female victim, it's much easier to accept that she isn't a victim at all, and someone you're probably never going to understand. In the end, Levine, who often channels the stylistic prowess of Gus Van Sant and Quentin Tarantino in the film (a curious mix, I know) creates an exciting and -- particular in its final moments -- successful re-work of the slasher. Like the classic Scream films Lane revels in its knowledge of the genre and knowing that it ultimately has something different to offer, but instead of helping us feel sorry for the objectified Mandy Lane, makes us feel like all the boys do. Powerless.

Happy 50th Birthday: Kate Bush

A mere two or so weeks sooner than another female musical icon celebrates her 50th birthday, the seemingly-ageless creative genius that is Kate Bush celebrates hers.

I really only got into her music a couple of years ago - a short time before the release of her latest album in 2005, the majestic, Brit-nominated Aerial. It's an amazing album, possibly eclipsed only by her debut The Kick Inside, which contains some of the best written songs I've ever encountered.

Here are two clips. The first is where it all began: her debut TV performance, in which she performs Kite and her famous Bronte-inspired Wuthering Heights. The second is a performance of my favourite track in her vast collection, the beautiful, mysterious Man With The Child In His Eyes, which she wrote aged just 13 (!!).

Hottest Track: Kylie Minogue - The One (Freemasons Vocal Club Mix)

Addicts 2007: The Stats

And the Addicts are over!

Here are the stats...

6 Nominations

Atonement
2 Wins/1 Runner Up
(Film, Director, Ensemble, *Cinematography, *Costume Design, Art Direction)

A Mighty Heart
0 Wins/1 Runner Up
(Film, Director, Ensemble, Actress in a Leading Role, Adapted Screenplay, Editing)

5 Nominations

I’m Not There
0 Wins/1 Runner Up
(Film, Director, Actress in a Supporting Role, Original Screenplay, Editing)

4 Nominations

Juno
2 Wins/1 Runner Up
(*Ensemble, Actress in a Supporting Role, Actor in a Supporting Role, *Original Screenplay)

No Country for Old Men
0 Wins/1 Runner Up
(Cinematography, Sound, Adapted Screenplay, Actor in a Supporting Role)

3 Nominations

I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone
1 Win
(Film, *Director, Cinematography)

Into the Wild
1 Win
(Actor in a Leading Role, *Adapted Screenplay, Editing)

Knocked Up
0 Wins
(Ensemble, Original Screenplay, Actor in a Supporting Role)

La Vie En Rose
0 Wins
(Actress in a Leading Role, Costume Design, Make Up)

Lust, Caution
1 Win
(Cinematography, *Actress in a Leading Role, Costume Design)

Once
1 Win/1 Runner Up
(*Film, Director, Original Screenplay)

There Will Be Blood
0 Wins
(Cinematography, Actor in a Leading Role, Art Direction)

2 Nominations

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days
0 Wins
(Actor in a Supporting Role, Original Screenplay)

Hairspray
0 Wins
(Ensemble, Sound, Editing)

Sleuth
0 Wins/1 Runner Up
(Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction)

Sunshine
1 Win
(Visual Effects, *Art Direction)

Sweeney Todd
0 Wins
(Costume Design, Art Direction)

Transformers
1 Win
(*Sound, Visual Effects)

We Own the Night
0 Wins
(Actress in a Supporting Role, Editing)

1 Nomination

300
1 Win
(Visual Effects)

Away From Her
1 Runner Up
(Actress in a Leading Role)

Bug

(Make Up)

Disturbia
1 Win
(Actor in a Leading Role)

Elizabeth: The Golden Age
1 Runner Up
(Costume Design)

Hallam Foe

(Adapted Screenplay)

In the Valley of Elah
(Actor in a Leading Role)

Interview
(Actress in a Leading Role)

It’s a Free World…
(Actress in a Supporting Role)

Michael Clayton
1 Win
(Actress in a Supporting Role)

Planet Terror

1 Win

(Make Up)

Rescue Dawn

1 Win

(Actor in a Supporting Role)

Things We Lost in the Fire
1 Runner Up
(Actor in a Leading Role)

Addicts 2007: Best Film and Director

I have to say that I hardly ever match my favourite five pictures and directors in a given year. But this time, it's happened. I simply could not see past the achievements of these five films, despite how much I loved Juno, Black Snake Moan, Sunshine, There Will Be Blood, Lust Caution and the rest...

Best Film & Best Director

Atonement
& Joe Wright

If films were purely judged on their visuality Atonement would be leaps and bounds above the rest, but as it stands it takes a healthy position in my top ten. Cecilia and Robbie's romance crucially works because it feels so complete, despite their periods of separation and the tragic events that end their relationship. I once saw an act in which two dancers stood on either side of a glass partition, each mirroring the actions of the other. I like to think of Cecilia and Robbie in this way: physically isolated but emotionally united. The way in which their romance is handled in Atonement - tentatively, lusciously, and at times consigned to the back burner for Briony's intense character study, is a brave move, and makes the story feel all a more subtle and poignant one.

I Don't Want To Sleep Alone
& Ming-liang Tsai

I find it incredible that there is such a miniscule amount of dialogue in Tsai's stunning film. He uses so much of the filmmaking pallette (through colour, light, composition) to create a calm and reflective mood, and a portrait that holds your gaze with its simple beauty. I Dont Want To Sleep Alone is a film about interaction, and it details (without drawing attention to itself) the ways in which it's possible to access the thoughts and feelings of another without probing inquisition. In this way its technique, and interaction with the audience, is indicative of the films inhabitants: quiet, patient, knowing, natural. Actions speak louder than words.

I'm Not There
& Todd Haynes

I've said so much about it already, so I'll keep this fairly brief. Haynes' film is one of the best biopics I've ever seen because it bucks the 'biopic' trend so radically. It doesn't pretend to know everything about its subject, juggling ideas of Dylan as a badboy, a recluse, an activist, with tremendous energy and dynamism. A triumph.

A Mighty Heart
& Michael Winterbottom

Lingering flashbacks of Daniel Pearl can perhaps be compared to the sentimentality with which Rachel Weisz's murdered political dynamo is captured in 2005's problematic The Constant Gardener. Usually, I don't like a film to constantly remind me how important its subject is, but with A Mighty Heart, there was a point where I abandoned the idea of it as a reconstruction of anything. It's amazing that the intensity and immersion that the film provides remains firmly on the right side of the overkill barrier, and that you can't begrudge the filmmakers for whisking us into a situation that only dark minds could tolerate or desire to be in the first place, because it's so god damn interesting.

Once
& John Carney

I cried at the end of Once.

I cried at the end of The Bucket List too, so that's hardly an indication of how good a film is, but I'd like to think that there's an obvious difference as to why I cried at the end of each film. While sucre was ever-present in the latter, Once never cheapens itself, or even purports that its characters are dissatisfied at what happens in the film. Hell, it's a HAPPY film. But I felt like I knew the characters so well through their behaviour, and significantly the music that they create, that I just didn't want to leave them. For the principle characters to lay so much of their souls down on the table for eighty minutes and then turn around and filter into the distance ambiguous unknowns isn't something we expect from a film. Harsh, but undoubtedly realistic, their existence can be likened to music itself: ephemeral and precious.

Winner: Once (1)
Runner Up: I'm Not There (2)
A Mighty Heart (3)
I Don't Want To Sleep Alone (4)
Atonement (5)

Rest of Top Ten...

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (6)

Lust, Caution (7)

Sunshine (8)

Black Snake Moan (9)

Into the Wild (10)

Winner: Ming-liang Tsai

Runner Up: Michael Winterbottom

Hottest Track: Lykke Li - I'm Good, I'm Gone

Yes, I'm back. Unbelievable. Buy this girl's album. It's top.

2008 FAQ

It may appear as if I've been in a bit of a timewarp on the filmic front; reminiscing about actresses long dead and proclaiming awards for 2007's cinematic gems. But sadly, until distributors figure a system whereby films get a worldwide synchronised release (I live in the hope of a six year-old praying that Santa is real), things aren't gonna look clean. Still, I've nearly put this to bed. Just two more categories in the Addicts to go.

As for 2008, here are some FAQ's for ya, until I can manage to muster up a couple of reviews of the 11 releases I've seen so far:-

Q: What's the year's best film so far?

A: Neil Marshall's Doomsday. A political action thriller packed with substance, lucid in tone, and confident in execution.

Q: What's the year's worst film so far?

A: The horrendous Other Boleyn Girl. Tacky, trashy and repellent.

Q: Will Sally Hawkins be nominated for an Oscar, and if so, is she worthy?

A: It's a signature Mike Leigh Actress performance. Like Blethyn, some are likely to find her annoying, but there's undeniable depth there. At the moment, I'd say yes. And it's Oscar worthy stuff in my eyes. Loved her.

Q: Are you going to see Indiana Jones 4?

A: Haha. Not even for Shia.

Q: Which film are you most looking forward to this year?

A: Synecdoche, New York!

And a few words about the extraordinary impact that the year of 2008 has had upon me thus far...
I'm actually looking forward to seeing the work of Clint Eastwood and Sean Penn ;-)

Eurovision Semi-Final Qualifiers

3 Days To Go Until Eurovision!

The following qualifiers from the first Eurovision Semi-Final (it's a gruelling process) are:-

• Greece
• Romania
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Finland
• Russia
• Israel
• Azerbaijan
• Armenia
• Poland
• Norway

I didn't see the semi-final (I'm trying to avoid the songs, remember) but my fellow Eurovision-obsessee says that Dima Bilan's performance for Russia was diabolical. He still got in, so go figure why he's the frontrunner. Oh, and you're right in thinking Dustin the Turkey will not be mixing the decks for Ireland on Saturday. Try not to cry into your pillows tonight.

Hottest Track: Ashlee Simpson - Outta My Head

Ferropolis, My Metropolis: Or How I Learned To Stop Fucking Around And See Björk

I have a confession: I have never been to a concert. Maybe it was ticket prices that put me off. Or perhaps that I seem to have such a different taste in music than most of my friends/family. Nevertheless, it's a pretty sad situation.

When tickets for Madonna's new tour came out on Monday I got thinking about things and decided I wanted to go, but when I posed this theory to my friend she clearly wasn't gonna shell out £75 on the woman. Fair enough if you're not that much of a fan. Not all of us think she's legendary. We did however compromise on the idea of going to a festival this Summer.

As well as never having been to a concert, I've never been camping before, so the theory in itself throws up images of a headfirst dive into a shallow pool, but if I'm bound for a rude awakening then so be it, because on the weekend of July 18th I shall be heading to none other than Germany for the Melt! festival. The good news? A return flight costs £30! The better news? Björk will headline it, closing the marathon 72-hour event on Sunday evening.

I've already exercised my adoration for the Icelandic Goddess on more than one occasion, and I am so deliriously excited at the prospect of seeing this woman perform probably around ten songs live on stage in the surroundings of Ferropolis (which translates curiously as 'City of Steel'). Other performers also include Robyn (!), and Roisin Murphy (!!), whose 2007 album, 'Overpowered', is nothing short of incredible. Also: Kate Nash, Hot Chip, and Operator Please.

I need reining in ;-)

Addicts 2007: Rounding Up The Minors

These are the categories I haven't managed to get through, so I'm gonna rattle them off now pretty quickly, before I proceed to name my director and picture picks:-

Ensemble

Atonement

*Juno

A Mighty Heart

Hairspray

Knocked Up

Cinematography

*Atonement

I Don't Want To Sleep Alone

Lust, Caution

No Country For Old Men

There Will Be Blood

Sound

Hairspray

No Country For Old Men

*Transformers

Visual Effects

*300

Sunshine

Transformers

Hola. Eurovision is exactly 10 days, 1 hour and 50 minutes away, so it's time to look ahead to the first semi-final, which takes place next Tuesday. Unlike other award shows (as if any others count), I don't like to see all of the competitors before the big night. With Eurovision, it's fun kind of experiencing these interesting, and in some cases fucking CRAZY tunes, for the first time. Nevertheless I've decided to bring your attention to a couple of countries hoping to make it through that first semi-final.

Ireland
Dustin the Turkey - "Irelande Douze Pointe"

Yes that is a puppet turkey. What more do you expect from a contest like this? On a more serious note: I find it telling that even Ireland, one of the most culturally-ingrained, historically musical (and successfully so) nations in the World has reverted to such a tacky and obvious gimmick. Let's stick to what we're good at people.

Russia
Dima Bilan - "Believe"

This guy famously danced around in a vest in 2006 to the tune of "Never Let You Go", while papier-mached figures emerged from a piano. The set was interesting. The song was good. This one seems a little more routine (although nobody can predict the presentation of any song in this contest), and it kinda starts like "Umbrella", which is... strange.


Greece
Kalomira - "Secret Combination"

My Greek friend linked me to the three songs Greece would have to choose from to represent them at Eurovision this year. This was the one I disliked and the only one of the three she liked. We'll see if the rest of Europe agree with me or her, but in my view, its chorus is dull and repetitive, which makes it a lame pop song.

Addicts 2007: Actress in a Leading Role

Best Actress in a Leading Role

Julie Christie
Away From Her

Alzheimers is a terribly sad fate for a person, and watching the breakdown of Grant and Fiona's relationship in the touching but undeniably troubled Away From Her, is itself fairly devastating. It's interesting though that, for me, the entirety of the film's engulfing sense of loss is instigated (without ever appearing so) from the incredible Julie Christie. We are often encouraged to walk in the shoes of the weary, and annoyingly overwrought Gordon Pinsent. A man who has lost something. But Christie makes Fiona much more accessible as a victim, her mental deterioration mirroring Pinsent's physical longing, and thus her punishment seems much more ingrained and natural. She doesn't seem affected, losing none of the grace, humour, charm; yet appears so irredeemably distant. Without context. Without recognition. A rich and painful portrayal.

Marion Cotillard
La Vie En Rose

In more than one way Cotillard's performance is not of the ilk that I tend to admire. Incredibly theatrical (especially in terms of her gestures and mannerisms) one can be tempted to believe that she lacks depth, restraint, understanding of what is needed to make Piaf a genuine character. But for what Olivier Dahan's La Vie En Rose so baldly displays as a fast-paced sporadic tribute to the legendary powerhouse (not dissimilar to the pace and style of All That Jazz by the way), Marion Cotillard can read everything the film wants to achieve and more. I had difficulty separating whether it's more her triumph than Dahan's that together, her performance and the film seem so synchronised. It's a success for both, but the editing -- a major feature of the film -- has to have festered gladly on Cotillard's showy snippets of Piaf. Almost Minelli-like, she wades in and out of every scene just as La Vie En Rose meanders so adventurously and recklessly in and out of Piaf's life. Amazing.

Angelina Jolie
A Mighty Heart

As a woman chasing any trace of her kidnapped husband it isn't a feat that Jolie has us on Marianne's side. When we think of grieving widows, or housewives waiting, hoping, for their husbands to come home from war, it's easy to expect and see the desperate wreck. But we don't often see them as an active force in proceedings, and that might be why Jolie is so surprisingly effective as the core of A Mighty Heart. She is by no means better than the film, but without a shadow of a doubt understands every bit of the episode, carrying off her role with the passion of a heroine. And when I say 'heroine', I don't mean someone who's content to put a brave face on things, but someone keen to understand as much of the political situation as she can in order to bring her fella home. She wants it more than we do, and it shows. Jolie has so much impact as a personality than she ever has as a figure of pity; despite pregnancy, false hope, loss, the raw power she evokes is that of our superwoman beaten. Beaten admirably, but heartbreakingly beaten nonetheless.



Sienna Miller
Interview

I actually have trouble acknowledging that I value Sienna Miller's dogged, neurotic performance in Interview, a film I didn't care for, above Laura Linney, Anamaria Marinca, and the tireless Ellen Page. But this is the girl I wanted here most, and in all honesty, it's because I saw more of myself in her than I did the others. Judging and interpreting films is ultimately an altogether personal experience, and consequently Miller, whose Katya is restricted despite her power and independence; naive, shallow, but capable of duping even the most psychologically-apt of counterparts, feels more close-to-home and complex than the others. Outwardly confident and superior, inwardly self-conscious and needy, she teases, provokes, and ends up feeling like the real throwaway victim of a piece that doesn't know enough about what it wants to say, but crafts two characters that has enough to keep you entertained for the vast majority of its modest running time. Sienna can hack it with the best of them.

Tang Wei
Lust, Caution

Like Lust, Caution itself Tang Wei's role is a concealing contradiction. Complete with all the makings of the schoolgirl who has an affair with a high-school professor, she is a foxy female that veers far from the standard path through adolescence, and her double-role in this luscious sex-fest skates the boundary between girl and woman extremely finely. A wannabe-rebel and seductive spy she undergoes a transformation but retains that naive, ingestant childishness that feeds her need to mean something to someone. To matter. And when imposed upon by everybody Wei is able to let the resillience and individuality of Mai Tai Tai shine through. Her performance is assured, magnetic, mature, and often reminded me of Greer Garson, whose modesty was surely unrivalled, but given a run for its money by Wei, who like Garson, never really gives any indication that she knows how beautiful, clever, and charismatic she is, although there's an inkling that amidst it all the girl probably does.

Winner: Tang Wei, Lust Caution
Runner Up: Julie Christie, Away From Her

Sad To Exclude: The aforementioned ladies: Anamaria Marinca, Ellen Page, and the excellent Laura Linney, who I'd say is probably 6th, as she has a much weaker written character than the others.

Hottest Track: Vampire Weekend - Oxford Comma

Addicts 2007: Actress in a Supporting Role

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Cate Blanchett
I'm Not There

Blanchett's gender-swapping role is indeed heavily gimmicky in nature, but I found her performance much more ingrained and valuable than a theatrical delve into masculinity. Dylan’s showy physical shtick (his ticks and false bravado) are part of his iconography, and it’s Blanchett’s job to be this impenetrable figure. Of the entire ensemble she is the name BOB DYLAN; the media play-thing, the token rebel, the asshole, and so her role can’t really be pigeon-holed as anything, and neither can she. The success of I’m Not There, and Blanchett herself, is solidified in that her creation doesn't come across as gender-specific, and I’m sure that the Bob Dylan of old wouldn’t acknowledge Blanchett’s version as either male or female (if indeed acknowledge it at all). That’s entirely the point of her performance, and she hammers it home admirably.

Juliet Ellis
It's A Free World...

The reluctant sidekick to Wareing's opportunisitic businesswoman, Rose acts as Angie's moral conscience. Although the two women are essentially a team Ellis knows when to allow Wareing the floor and how much of it to allow. Conservative by nature but a politically passive exponent of Loach's liberal politics, she tackles the flames of Wareing's fiery leading woman, yet shies away from being the superior disapproving friend too often. Ellis gives Rose the self-assurance and social awareness that marks her as a less volatile and desperate creature to her friend, and as a contrast, it helps to make It's a Free World... seem a more careful and ruminative piece than it otherwise might have become.

Jennifer Garner
Juno

We've already judged Garner two minutes into her performance. A suburban housewife who sees a baby as the must-have accessory for any bourgeois middle-class couple. But that's because it's what we want to see, and on a repeat viewing it's clear that she doesn't see the role of Vanessa in this way at all, really understanding her purpose in Juno's life. Perhaps guilty of being an obsessive, cautious pessimist Garner's Vanessa is uptight and nowhere close to being likeable. She has all of the environmental factors of a materialist but little of the character, and none of the nature. Backward in coming forward she quickly becomes one of the few non-judgemental characters in the film, and grows into someone worth your sympathy and attention. A performance that stays with you when all is said and done.

Eva Mendes
We Own The Night

Most films are keen to integrate their 'wronged woman' in a way of getting at their precious leading man, and his moral arc. Mendes has more than one opportunity to play her character this way, and, though she can vent her wrath with the best of them, never shies away from her own fragmented mess. In some ways she is blessed, because the film seems keen to give her some individuality, but amidst an airstrike of family politics and exhilarating detective chase she still embeds herself in your mind as the true dilemna of the film. The outsider looking into a world she knows little about.

Taken from my Supporting Actress Blogathon post

Tilda Swinton
Michael Clayton

It's to her incredible credit that Tilda Swinton's Karen Crowther veers so far from villainry 101, even in Michael Clayton's more routine moments. Villains are scarcely afforded a breakdown scene in a bathroom. After all, moments of inhibited weakness and vulnerability (excluding hangups about physical appearance) do not fit the 'cold bitch' stereotype. But Swinton re-fashions a hard-faced, ruthless businesswoman into someone bound by a system, acting on their capable but decidedly worn and unsteady feet. It's fascinating character work, and a rich injection into Michael Clayton's smart, slick, but cruisingly familiar setup. If only because she isn't the false, catty corporate representative that one has come to expect. It's a wonder then that her performance won her an Oscar -- the best performance in at least a decade to do so.

Winner: Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton
Runner Up: Jennifer Garner - Juno

Sad to Exclude: Natalie Portman, who shines as a gambling addict in Wong Kar Wai's My Blueberry Nights. Saoirse Ronan's oscar-nominated turn in Atonement is mature, measured and hella effective. Vanessa Ferlito is the best of the Death Proof girls, and well worth the price of admission alone.