tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26773802759201413392024-03-13T23:19:34.320+00:00Stan's Film BlogFilm reviews and news and comment about the movie business.Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.comBlogger252125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-52490239972143112862019-01-12T19:46:00.000+00:002019-01-14T09:21:07.835+00:00Box office review 2018<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw66FqyMvq03ccZY6VGn4-PDVywAiI_CGRM0rA85rSe7u2eAr8vMSUjOKtW7fv4AnQbRSJtmiMF_ETnZGkMyqAl-h-Vl-eGhXcLBhPZISyocGL72Ust35ozdWUN9kWVXjHWYhzeH1ehfq5/s1600/Avengers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw66FqyMvq03ccZY6VGn4-PDVywAiI_CGRM0rA85rSe7u2eAr8vMSUjOKtW7fv4AnQbRSJtmiMF_ETnZGkMyqAl-h-Vl-eGhXcLBhPZISyocGL72Ust35ozdWUN9kWVXjHWYhzeH1ehfq5/s320/Avengers.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
Beyond the simple headline that super heroes and dinosaurs ruled the worldwide box office in 2018, there are other stories to tell, of daring release strategies, of little films that made it big, of audiences coming back time and again to see the same film.<br />
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But let's start with the unavoidable, inescapable fact: Avengers: Infinity War ruled the world, nudging over the $2bn barrier. That figures includes £70.8m from the UK (topping the chart), nearly $1.4m from the international box office (Thanos & co was the chart topper in Brazil, Mexico, France, Australia, Germany and Russia, as well as being the best-performing foreign film in China and South Korea), and 'only' $678.8m in the US (trailing behind Black Panther with its seismic $700.1m).<br />
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Super hero movies dominated the worldwide top 20: in the Avengers' and Thanos's wake came Black Panther, Incredibles 2, Venom, Aquaman, Deadpool 2 and Ant-Man & The Wasp. Panther and Incredibles both skipped passed the $1bn barrier, while Christmas hit Aquaman is about to cross that barrier as I write.<br />
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Among the really big hits, one of the surprises - especially given its lengthy and difficult gestation - is Bohemian Rhapsody. With a budget of just $52m and without securing the right to be distributed in China, the Queen biopic closed 2018 with $713.4m - and continues to hold screen space through January and is closing on $800m. The film was spectacularly successful in Japan, being the number one foreign film (and the second-best foreign film in the past three years), and in South Korea, where it was second best performing foreign film behind the Avengers. Freddie & co finished fifth in the UK with £47.2m, and at number one in both Italy and the Netherlands. Freddie & co was only the second-best music-based film in the UK - Mamma Mia 2 took the title with £65.6m.<br />
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Indeed, musicals and music-based movies were one of the other key trends of 2018: the combination of MM2, Bo Rhap, A Star Is Born and the hold-over business from The Greatest Showman generated a worldwide box office total of $1.8bn off combined budgets of just $247m (note: MM2 cost $25m more to produce than its predecessor). In the UK, the four films generated £184m.<br />
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Indeed, The Greatest Showman became a sensation in the UK, showing tremendous legs as audiences returned again and again to see the film: it took more than £1m every weekend for 12 consecutive weekends - that's positively Titanic-esque. Aside from its bumper opening weekend, its weekend takings from its second weekend until its twelfth look like this: £2.4m, £2.1m, £2.1m, £2m, £2.2m (this was the first weekend in February and the only time the film hit the top spot), £1.9m, £1.9m, £2m, £1.2m, £1.6m, and £1m.<br />
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Awards season was a particularly fruitful time at the UK box office with Darkest Hour performing like a bona fide blockbuster, opening at number one with more than £4m and finishing its run just shy of £25m (the ballsy release strategy - pitching it as a blockbuster - was a stroke of genius). Three Billboards performed very well, raking in more than £15m. In both cases, the backers must have been pleasantly surprised at how well their films performed.<br />
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Other performances of note in the UK were Peter Rabbit's £40.9m steal and Mary Poppins returning in style, grabbing more than £23m in just 11 days before continuing to rule the roost at the start of 2019 (it should easily pass the £40m barrier).<br />
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A relative under-performer in the UK was A Quiet Place, hauling in just £11.8m, meaning the critical hit chiller didn't take the crown for best-performing movie based on entirely original characters and scenario: Coco's £18.9m sealed that title. However, A Quiet Place was the worldwide and US best-performing original on $340.7m and $188m respectively on a budget of just $17m.<br />
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Notably profitable movies - comparing production budget with box office receipts - were Bo Rhap, A Star Is Born ($389.2m haul from a $36m budget), and US hit Crazy Rich Asians ($238.5m - $174m from the US! - off a budget of $30m).<br />
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Challenging those Asians for the title of most one-sided performance of the year was Ready Player One, with more than three-quarters of its $582.9m worldwide haul coming from the international market - indeed, nearly half of its international haul came from China!<br />
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China was the number one worldwide market for not only Ready Player One, but also Venom, The Meg, Rampage, Pacific Rim 2, Skyscraper and Tomb Raider.<br />
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Of course, there were a number of box office disappointments - and the world's most successful was not immune. While Disney had Avengers 3, the Panther, the Incredibles sequel and the Ant-Man sequel generating an astonishing $5.3bn worldwide between them, it also caught a cold on Star Wars spin-off Solo, which spectacularly underwhelmed with less than $400m, while the combination of A Wrinkle In Time, Christopher Robin and The Nutcracker & The Four Realms could only muster $503m between them.<br />
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The Pacific Rim sequel fell noticeably short of its predecessor ($291.4m v $411m respectively), but arguably the biggest flop was Robin Hood: off a $100m budget, it missed the target, generating just $79.8m.<br />
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Forecast for 2019: another banner year for Disney with (deep breath) Captain Marvel, Dumbo (live action), Avengers: Endgame, Aladdin (live action), Toy Story 4, The Lion King (live action), Artemis Fowl (the new Harry Potter?), and the end-of-year double whammy of Frozen 2 and Star Wars 9.<br />
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<b>2018 charts</b><br />
<b>Worldwide top 20</b><br />
Avengers: Infinity War $2,048.7m<br />
Black Panther $1,346.9m<br />
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom $1,304.9m<br />
Incredibles 2 $1,242.6m<br />
Venom $855.2m<br />
Aquaman $836.1m<br />
Mission: Impossible - Fallout $791m<br />
Deadpool 2 $735.6m<br />
Bohemian Rhapsody $713.4m<br />
Fantastic Beasts 2 $628.7m<br />
Ant-Man & The Wasp $622.7m<br />
Jumanji $615m (also took $342.7m in 2017)<br />
Ready Player One $582.9m<br />
The Meg $$30.2m<br />
Hotel Transylvania 3 $527.2m<br />
The Grinch $474.2m<br />
Rampage $428m<br />
Mamma Mia 2 $393.8m<br />
Solo $392.9m<br />
A Star Is Born $389.2m<br />
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<b>UK top 20</b><br />
Avengers: Infinity War £70.8m<br />
Mamma Mia 2 £65.6m<br />
Incredibles 2 £56.1m<br />
Black Panther $50.6m<br />
Bohemian Rhapsody £47.2m<br />
The Greatest Showman £41.9m (also took £4.8m in 2017)<br />
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom £41.6m<br />
Peter Rabbit £40.9m<br />
Deadpool 2 £32.7m<br />
Fantastic Beasts 2 £32.7m<br />
A Star Is Born £29.3m<br />
The Grinch £26.6m<br />
Mission: Impossible - Fallout £24.4m<br />
Darkest Hour £24.9m<br />
Mary Poppins Returns £23.2m<br />
Venom $20.2m<br />
Jumanji £20.1m (also took £17.8m in 2017)<br />
Hotel Transylvania 3 £19.9m<br />
Solo £19.4m<br />
Coco £18.9m<br />
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<b>International top 20</b><br />
Avengers: Infinity War $1,369.9m<br />
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom $888.2m<br />
Black Panther $646.9m<br />
Venom $642.1m<br />
Aquaman $637m<br />
Incredibles 2 $634m<br />
Mission: Impossible - Fallout $570.9m<br />
Bohemian Rhapsody $523.6m<br />
Ready Player One $445.2m<br />
Deadpool 2 $417.1m<br />
Ant-Man & The Wasp $406m<br />
Jumanji $396m (also took $157.5m in 2017)<br />
The Meg $384.8m<br />
Hotel Transylvania 3 $359.7m<br />
Rampage $327m<br />
Mamma Mia 2 $273.2m<br />
50 Shades Freed $271m<br />
The Nun $248.1m<br />
Skyscraper $236.3m<br />
Peter Rabbit $236m<br />
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<b>US top 20</b><br />
Black Panther $700.1m<br />
Avengers: Infinity War $678.8m<br />
Incredibles 2 $608.6m<br />
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom $416.8m<br />
Deadpool 2 $318.5m<br />
The Grinch $266.3m<br />
Jumanji $235.5m (also took $169m in 2017)<br />
Mission: Impossible - Fallout $220.2m<br />
Ant-Man & The Wasp $216.6m<br />
Solo $213.8m<br />
Venom $213.3m<br />
A Star Is Born $201.2m<br />
Aquaman $199.1m<br />
Bohemian Rhapsody $189.8m<br />
A Quiet Place $188m<br />
Ralph Breaks The Internet $177.6m<br />
Crazy Rich Asians $174m<br />
Hotel Transylvania 3 $167.5m<br />
Halloween $159.3m<br />
Fantastic Beasts 2 $156.8m<br />
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<b>China top 10</b><br />
Avengers: Infinity War $359.5m<br />
Venom $271.7m<br />
Aquaman $261.4m<br />
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom $261.2m<br />
Ready Player One $218.5m<br />
Mission: Impossible - Fallout $181.2m<br />
Rampage $156.4m<br />
The Meg $153m<br />
Ant-Man & The Wasp $121.2m<br />
Black Panther $105.1m<br />
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Data sources: <a href="http://boxofficemojo.com/">boxofficemojo.com</a>, <a href="https://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/film-industry-statistics-research/weekend-box-office-figures" target="_blank">BFI</a><br />
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<br />Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-4527723166608910982019-01-12T11:41:00.001+00:002019-01-12T11:42:00.012+00:00Golden Stans 2018As the Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Oscars are being bandied about, it's time for the Golden Stans. I saw 89 films in 2018, of which 16 were old films or repeat screenings of current films, thus 73 motion pictures are left to pitch for my awards.<br />
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First the bad news: the <b>Cone of Shame</b>. I was very tempted to hand this to Aquaman - quite how this nonsense is heading to $1bn beggars belief. It's not as bad as Justice League, but it's not a whole heap better. But the Cone of Shame goes to the hopelessly misguided snorefest that was Peterloo. Buried beneath the endless speeches was an important slice of history, but I firmly believe Ken Loach would have done a better job because he would have realised the importance of telling a story - something that apparently escaped Mike Leigh's attention. Leigh's approach might have worked if stretched across four one-hour episodes of quality television, but as a 2.5-hour movie, it massively under-delivered.<br />
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The <b>Best Score</b> of 2018 was Paul Sanderson's sympathetic soundtrack to Three Identical Strangers: as the narrative shifts from triumph to mystery to tragedy, so his score shifts too, never abruptly, emphasising and reinforcing the story.<br />
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The Golden Stan for <b>Best Cinematography</b> is a somewhat one-sided affair even though there was so much great work to admire, including:<br />
<ul>
<li>Martin Otterbeck's 72-minute single take in Utoya - 22 July, running, crawling, splashing through the water helped to make the film even more unbearable to watch;</li>
<li>Robbie Ryan's fish eye and non-Steadicam (in natural light) add greatly to the Kubrickian air of The Favourite;</li>
<li>Linus Sandgren embraced and overcame the challenges set by his director, working across 16mm, 35mm and IMAX, creating significant levels of immersion at First Man's dramatic height;</li>
<li>Julie Kirkwood caught the disorientating sun-bleaching of LA perfectly in Destroyer; </li>
<li>Lukas Zal, working in 4:3 ratio, produced only the second-best black and white work of the year (although noticeably higher contrast than the ultimate winner) in Cold War; and</li>
<li>Matyas Erdely repeated his stunt for Son Of Saul, the camera always in the face or seemingly on the shoulder of Sunset's hero, immersing the audience in her fever dream.</li>
</ul>
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But none of these scoop the trophy. With his preferred DOP, Emmanuel Lubezki, unavailable, Alfonso Cuaron shot ROMA himself: and what a job he did! The resulting beautiful black and white compositions linger long in the memory.</div>
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The <b>Best Adapted Screenplay</b> goes to Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely for Avengers: Infinity War. For my money, they just about pulled off the impossible. Their key decision early on was to make the villain the protagonist, the super heroes the pesky kids trying to thwart his plan. The high stakes were clear from the beginning, the character beats perfectly deployed, and the action well-staged. The mismatch of heroes was well-thought through: the Beard Brothers of Tony Stark and Stephen Strange absolutely not getting on; the comedy tag team of Thor and Rocket ("Rabbit"); and the 'sisters' of Black Widow, Scarlet Witch and Okoye doing it for themselves. And the decision to give Steve Rogers the best gag in the movie was particularly inspired.</div>
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The <b>Best Original Screenplay</b> Golden Stan is another one-sided affair: in fact, it's a one-space affair. The hands-down winner is The Guilty, written by Gustav Moller and Emil Nygaard Albertsen. This Danish thriller in the Hitchcockian tradition was simply perfect: a humdinger of an idea, well thought-out and sublimely executed.</div>
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And now on to the acting categories. First up, <b>Best Supporting Actress</b>; the shortlist is:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Allison Janney/I, Tonya</li>
<li>Rachel McAdams/Disobedience</li>
<li>Lesley Manville/Phantom Thread</li>
<li>Sissy Spacek/The Old Man & The Gun</li>
<li>Marina de Tavira/ROMA</li>
<li>Jodie Whittaker/Journeyman</li>
</ul>
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Janney's casting as Tonya's mother was hardly against type, but she was absolutely right for the role. McAdams delivered a timely reminder that there's so much to her than romcoms and a super hero's girlfriend. Manville comfortably held her own against Daniel Day-Lewis, her eyes hinting at an almost Lady Macbeth command of the man in her life. Spacek lit up the screen in her scenes with Robert Redford. De Tavira had arguably the more challenging role in ROMA, her character's heart always there as she shifts from the hero's boss, to discarded wife, to benevolent matriarch. And Dr Who played a significant part in Journeyman and that phone call scene (possibly the gut punch scene of the year). The award goes to Lesley Manville. </div>
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The shortlist for <b>Best Supporting Actor</b> is:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Josh Brolin/Avengers: Infinity War</li>
<li>Kevin Costner/Molly's Game</li>
<li>Ben Foster/Leave No Trace</li>
<li>Nicolas Hoult/The Favourite</li>
<li>John Krasinski/A Quiet Place</li>
<li>Alessandro Nivola/Obedience</li>
</ul>
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Brolin's Thanos is almost up there with Andy Serkis's Gollum for the best motion-capture performance. In truth, Costner's appearances in Molly's Game are little more than extended cameos, but he nails them perfectly, in particular the free psych session in the park. Foster deserves much wider recognition than he's getting for his broken soldier. Hoult is a hoot in The Favourite - he might do better to focus on comedy in the future, with this performance acting as a calling card. Krasinski juggled the role of playing support to his wife while directing her very well. Nivola was a sympathetic 'wronged' man, his accent spot-on. But the winner has to be Ben Foster.</div>
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The <b>Best Actress</b> shortlist runs to 10 exemplary performances:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Emily Blunt/A Quiet Place, and Mary Poppins Returns</li>
<li>Olivia Colman/The Favourite</li>
<li>Clare Foy/Unsane</li>
<li>Juli Jakab/Sunset</li>
<li>Nicole Kidman/Destroyer</li>
<li>Eva Melander/Border</li>
<li>Chloe Grace Moretz/The Miseducation of Cameron Post</li>
<li>Margot Robbie/I, Tonya</li>
<li>Emma Stone/The Favourite</li>
<li>Rachel Weisz/Obedience, and The Favourite</li>
</ul>
</div>
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Blunt made the most of two significant roles, her outstanding scene being the [<b><i>spoiler alert!</i></b>] giving-birth-while-making-no-noise-to-ensure-the-beastie-doesn't-kill-you (if I recall correctly, it was done in one take). Colman can apparently do no wrong. Foy went where Soderbergh sent her, desperately trying to hold onto her sanity. Jakab will either be a major find or a one-hit wonder, her steely ingenue a constant mystery. Kidman was perfectly gender neutral as the hard-boiled cop on the edge. Melander, underneath a substantial amount of prosthetics, delivered a true hero's journey to self-realisation and empowerment. Moretz is being ignored, incorrectly, by the major critics and awards bodies: her performance is her most memorable since Hit-Girl, but the complete antithesis of that mouthy super hero - the self-doubt constantly at war with the self-confidence is always there in her Cameron Post. Robbie was very impressive as Tonya Harding, her intelligence evident in picking the role and co-producing the movie. Stone and Weisz were their customary brilliant selves in The Favourite, with Weisz showcasing her range in Disobedience. It's a pitched battle between Blunt and Robbie, and Emily Blunt takes it by a whisker.<br />
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The <b>Best Actor</b> shortlist also runs to 10 excellent performances:<br />
<ul>
<li>Jakob Cedergren/The Guilty</li>
<li>Paddy Considine/Journeyman</li>
<li>Steve Coogan/Stan & Ollie</li>
<li>Jim Cummings/Thunder Road</li>
<li>Ethan Hawke/First Reformed</li>
<li>Oleg Ivenko/The White Crow</li>
<li>Hugh Jackman/The Front Runner</li>
<li>Rami Malek/Bohemian Rhapsody</li>
<li>Mads Mikaelsen/Arctic</li>
<li>Gary Oldman/Darkest Hour</li>
</ul>
Cedergren makes light of the physical and emotional precision that the direction and screenplay call for in The Guilty. Considine was considerably more than the sum of the tics afflicting the brain-damaged boxer - again that phonecall scene had me choking on my tears. Coogan nailed Stan Laurel, in particular the accent and his physical whimsy. Cummings delivered probably the bravest performance of the year, frequently teetering on the edge of absurdity, but the pain driving him was always evident. Hawke was the outstanding element in First Reformed. Ivenko is incredible as Nureyev - as a ballet dancer, he has the moves, but his ability to handle the intense close-ups and the drive of a man whose ambition was greater than his talent were outstanding. Jackman quietly delivered the goods as Gary Hart, generating some sympathy for a man who would not gain any today. Malek was astounding as Freddie Mercury - he simply became Freddie. Mads was typically Mads, physically fighting the freezing odds for all he was worth. And Oldman clearly researched Churchill heavily, and is probably the best Winston we'll see on screen. The winner? The champion? I'm a hardcore Queen fan, Freddie is a hero to me and still lives on through his and the band's music: for going beyond impersonation, the Golden Stan has to go to Rami Malek.<br />
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The <b>Best Director</b> shortlist is:<br />
<ul>
<li>Ali Abbassi/Border</li>
<li>Damien Chazelle/First Man</li>
<li>Alfonso Cuaron/ROMA</li>
<li>Craig Gillespie/I, Tonya</li>
<li>Debra Granik/Leave No Trace</li>
<li>John Krasinski/A Quiet Place</li>
<li>Yorgos Lanthimos/The Favourite</li>
<li>Christopher McQuarrie/Mission: Impossible - Fallout</li>
<li>Gustav Müller/The Guilty</li>
<li>Laszlo Nemes/Sunset</li>
</ul>
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Ok, let's get the big shock out of the way: Cuaron doesn't win! ROMA while brilliantly shot by Cuaron, is perhaps a little cold, a tad removed from the heart of the narrative. The other shock: yes, I've nominated McQ for M:I6, an outstanding piece of action cinema. Chazelle showcased his range, while challenging himself and his crew technically. Krasinski came from nowhere to helm the year's best horror with apparent ease and solid judgment. Nemes conjured a dreamscape that lingers long in the memory. Abbassi embraced the modern fairytale, imbuing it with touches of Lynch and Shyamalan. Granik drew excellent performances from her two stars, handling the story with sensitivity. Gillespie clearly played a significant role in the year's most audience-challenging movie. Lanthimos continued his Kubrickian observations of the human condition. But the winner is Gustav Moller for the Hitchcockian perfection of The Guilty.</div>
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A new category for 2018 is <b>Best Documentary</b>, reflecting how many great non-fiction works there were last year. Here's the shortlist:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Fahrenheit 9/11</li>
<li>The Bill Murray Stories</li>
<li>They Shall Not Grow Old</li>
<li>Three Identical Strangers</li>
</ul>
<div>
To an extent, Peter Jackson's WWI reimagining is beyond criticism for all the right reasons, but I felt a little short-changed having seen the Somme movie a few years back. Fahrenheit 9/11 was an angry, passionate and timely investigation that deserves a bigger audience. Three Identical Strangers was compelling, shocking and horrifying. But the Golden Stan goes to the Bill Murray Stories because it's that rare documentary - it preaches and offers hope - and I suspect it will stand up to repeat viewings.</div>
</div>
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And finally, the big one, its <b>Best Film</b>. There's no shortlist here, but a long list of the films that affected me in 2018 (in the order in which I saw them) and I recommend each and every one of them. There are some notable absences: The Square (at times brilliant, but there was just too much going on, emphasised by the madness throughout); Cold War (I struggle with the hashtagMeToo of it); and Hereditary (had some great sequences, but didn't journey to its shock, folk horror finale smoothly enough; too many plots points borrowed from masterpieces of the genre). Here, then, is the list:<br />
<ul>
<li>Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: blackly funny as hell, almost theatrical in its timing and the audience reactions; great script and great performances.</li>
<li>Darkest Hour: a surprise mega-hit in the UK, Oldman's finest hour occasionally brought a lump to the throat; only one or two trick shots from Joe Wright - hopefully the critical and commercial reaction to this means his got his mojo working again after the disaster that was Pan.</li>
<li>I, Tonya: a giant 'fuck you' of a movie with Margot Robbie on top form edges towards greatness thanks to the intelligence of its approach - [<b><i>spoiler alert!</i></b>] arguably, once you're into the second half of the movie, you should be questioning yourself, 'am I complicit in the (gender- and class-based) judgement and the media's intrusion and shaming of an athlete? Am I part of the problem or part of the solution?'</li>
<li>Journeyman: the boxing and the boxing community feels utterly authentic as do the performances, particularly from Paddy and Jodie. As previously mentioned, the most emotionally devastating moment of the year was the phonecall between the two, almost matched by the lump in the throat that accompanies the finale.</li>
<li>A Quiet Place: a superior horror - indeed, is it more chiller than horror? Whatever, Krasinski's brilliant re-working of the script, his sure touch behind the camera and his wife's outstanding performance made this the must-see of the spring. I might have held off on revealing so much of the beasties though.</li>
<li>Avengers: Infinity War: the Marvel motherlode! The Russo Brothers, in combination with Markus and McFeely, almost delivered a riposte to Logan: while lighter in tone, it was just as thematically dark and just as brave, concentrating on the villain. The decision to end with the simple text, 'Thanos will return', just rammed the point home: this was the Thanos movie - and he was right. But the Marvel humour was there, especially in Cap's timeless reply to Groot: "I am Steve Rogers!"</li>
<li>Beast: intriguing, quintessentially British folk chiller that might just herald the arrival of a talent to watch in writer-director Michael Pearce. </li>
<li>Leave No Trace: Debra Granik's very worthy follow-up to Winter's Bone. Featuring a turn from Ben Foster that deserves more awards heat than it's getting, this quiet, sensitive movie delves into another tribe that America has chosen to forget, offering no easy or pat answers. As with so few movies, it dares to suggest that some people just can't be or don't want to be saved in the space of a 90-minute narrative - and I'm more than OK with that.</li>
<li>First Reformed: a top flight performance from Ethan Hawke anchors this Taxi Driver update. Ascending to heaven and descending to hell while resolutely stuck in a harsh reality, Paul Schrader's film does have some issues, not least that it doesn't, for my money, fully earn its more fantastical, fanciful moments nor its finale.</li>
<li>The Miseducation of Cameron Post: one of the few films that I strongly recommend you watch at home. Why? The gossamer-light tone is easily spoiled by other cinema-goers' reactions. An inclusive, non-judgmental look at a teenager forced to 'pray the gay away' that, while set in the 90s, remains horribly relevant. Chloe Grace Moretz is outstanding in the lead.</li>
<li>Ant-Man & The Wasp: funny and engaging romp, with Evangeline Lilly to the fore. In so much that nobody dies, this is Marvel's first family movie. Pure joy!</li>
<li>Black k Klansman: Spike Lee's best and most relevant film in ages. Hugely enjoyable and full of righteous anger, but would the film be half the experience that it is without it's factual, modern day crushing depth charge of an epilogue?</li>
<li>Mission: Impossible - Fallout: more than one impossible stunt after another, the sixth IMF movie just about made sense and even had some genuine emotion at the heart of it. The next Bond (due Valentine's Day 2020) has a lot to live up to.</li>
<li>The Guilty: an impossibly perfect Hitchcockian thriller; the experience of watching it is greater than the sum of its still excellent parts. </li>
<li>Arctic: the virtually dialogue-free survival movie template of All Is Lost and Gravity is transplanted to the Arctic with considerable power. Mads is terrific, but watch out for the polar bear!</li>
<li>Border: the year's best (only?) modern, Grimm's fairytale. Great direction and performances, a genuine sense of 'otherness' seeps through the film.</li>
<li>Green Book: as the world becomes more divided, so Peter 'Dumb and Dumber' Farrelly delivers a feel-good movie in the Hollywood grand tradition. Not challenging, but a source of light and hope in a world that seems hellbent on going to the dogs.</li>
<li>The Old Man & The Gun: quite old school, slightly mischeivous, this hinges on Robert Redford's easy screen charm. His scenes with Spacek are an absolute delight.</li>
<li>Utoya - 22 July: in no way was this entertainment, but it sure was one of the most unrelenting immersive experiences you could endure in a cinema in 2018. Excellent editorial decision to not give the crazed killer the oxygen of publicity.</li>
<li>First Man: while not quite the critical hit that both Whiplash and La La Land were, and not in the same commercial league as the latter, Chazelle nevertheless made the most of the impact of IMAX. Even though you know the outcome, my palms were sweaty with the tension of the moon landing.</li>
<li>ROMA: Cuaron's intimate epic recreation of his childhood is a considerable achievement, and while he posits film-making as a team effort, he wrote, shot, directed, edited and produced this piece and thus it's a true auteur's work. See it on the big screen to marvel at the black and white cinematography and the outstanding sound design.</li>
<li>Sunset: Nemes's follow-up to Son of Saul doesn't quite scale the same heights, but the fever dream foretelling of the coming war in Europe in the early 20th century is hypnotic stuff.</li>
<li>Duplicate: excellent, small-scale sci-fi musing on mental health. Catch it if you can.</li>
<li>The Favourite: already Lanthimos's most successful commercially, it's hard to fail to observe that he did not write the script. Nevertheless, his print is evident in all areas of the film. It would have been very easy to shoot the script as a straight Blackadder-style comedy, but Lanthimos loads the film with his touches and his concerns. Exquisite performances from the leads. And the best deployment of the C-word since 48-Inch Chest.</li>
<li>Bohemian Rhapsody: by some substantial margin not perfect, but this is the movie that Freddie would have wanted. Is it gay enough? No. Is it debauched enough? No. Does the recreation of Queen's Live Aid in full IMAX blow you head off? Hell, yes! Does Rami Malek become Freddie? Absolutely. If the BFI IMAX screens it on the anniversary of Freddie's death every year, will I be there? Most definitely!</li>
<li>Disobedience: outstanding performances from Weisz, McAdams and Nivola in this even-handed tale of love and faith in a cold climate. Deserves much wider recognition than it's getting.</li>
<li>Stan & Ollie: an absolute joy. Predictable, but with buckets of old world charm from a more innocent age.</li>
</ul>
There has to be a winner, and the Golden Stan for Best Film in 2018 goes with no hesitation to The Guilty.<br />
<br />
Bring on 2019!<br />
<br />
<br />Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-25891849050117129812018-10-24T13:12:00.000+01:002018-10-24T13:12:15.459+01:00London Film Festival 2018: the best of the fest - part 2<div class="MsoNormal">
With the London Film Festival 2018 now over, here follows the second half of <a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.com/2018/10/london-film-festival-2018-best-of-fest.html" target="_blank">my round-up</a> of the films to look out for in the coming months.</div>
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<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8632862/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Fahrenheit 11/9</a>:
the latest Michael Moore documentary looks at how the hell Donald Trump became
the US President. It’s typical Moore: too long, too many targets, but it is
never less than compelling and informing; it’s an urgent call to arms to
liberals everywhere to get off their backsides and get in the political fight
and protect ‘democracy’ being abused.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeGDP5FPsIEIoQO_KrwdrLx3307Yq3f5ondROlSgmXTF9dBO_QQ9idnssojzIQ4AocA5jiXKtgFImuWKF7vBCxxCHIheRNoZkS6k1N3bEru_QnSaw2VJpKbpqxDC_-cwNiEG4Bp55xUUI/s1600/ROMA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="305" data-original-width="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikeGDP5FPsIEIoQO_KrwdrLx3307Yq3f5ondROlSgmXTF9dBO_QQ9idnssojzIQ4AocA5jiXKtgFImuWKF7vBCxxCHIheRNoZkS6k1N3bEru_QnSaw2VJpKbpqxDC_-cwNiEG4Bp55xUUI/s1600/ROMA.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6155172/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">ROMA</a>:
master director Alfonso Cuaron finally follows up Gravity with something
completely different, something of a personal passion project (he produced,
directed, wrote, shot and edited). In beautiful, crisp black and white
photography, ROMA tells the very simple story of a few months in the life of a
maid living with a well-to-do Mexican family in 1970: nothing much happens and
yet everything happens. As well as the gorgeous cinematography, this intimate
epic is buoyed by impressive and immersive sound design that is best
experienced in a cinema.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5855772/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Sunset</a>:
Hungarian director Laszlo Nemes follows up his successful debut Son Of Saul
with this fever dream. Set in the dying days of the Austro-Hungarian just
before WWI, the film focuses on Irisz Leiter, a young woman with a mysterious
past returning to Budapest whose true motivations may not be clear even to
herself. The narrative is deliberately dream-like. The sumptuous cinematography
apes Son Of Saul, the camera closely following Juli Jakab as Irisz. Needs to be
seen in a cinema.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5639446/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Duplicate</a>:
excellent meditation on mental health via a small helping of sci-fi. Ansel Elgort
(Baby Driver himself) wakes every day and watches a video message from an
almost identical man (his twin brother?); he concludes every day with a video
message of his own, detailing the day’s apparently banal facts. Why are they
leaving messages for each other? Why the boring facts of their days? As
thoughtful a slice of sci-fi as we’ve seen in a while. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7905466/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">They Shall Not Grow Old</a>:
Peter Jackson’s Weta crew have colourised and added audio to black and white
footage from WWI to stunning effect. With the aid of the recordings of
veterans’ recollections, the film tells the story of war from the Army
soldier’s point of view, from war being declared, through enlisting, training,
being sent to the front line, experiencing the battlefields and finally
returning home. The film may cause you to muse on many things, few of them
positive, but at least a copy of the film has been sent to every school in the
UK so that every teenager has the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of the
past.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8116574/?ref_=nv_sr_3" target="_blank">The Raft</a>:
excellent documentary about a human behaviour experiment carried out on a raft
sailing across the Atlantic in 1973. A renowned anthropology professor gathers
together 10 volunteers to sail across the Atlantic, their skills a mixture of
those necessary to survive the trip, their personalities likely to cause
internal conflict; he joins them on the raft to ‘observe’ in the hope that the
10, in the battle to survive the elements, will find a way to avoid or resolve
conflict and that their method can be used to end international conflict.
However, things do not go as the professor planned…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1318517/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">The Man Who Killed Don Quixote</a>:
Terry Gilliam finally delivers his passion project with Jonathan Pryce in the
lead role. By some margin, this is Gilliam’s most straight-forwardly
entertaining film since Twelve Monkeys. It has strong echoes of Brazil: better
to excel in your dreams and be deemed mad, than to be sane and live in
mediocrity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5460858/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">The White Crow</a>:
Ralph Fiennes directs this retelling of Rudolf Nureyev’s defection to the West.
Cross-cutting with key moments in Nureyev’s life that lead him to the biggest
decision of his life, the film evokes the impact that Paris (and the great
works he saw there) had on him. Ukranian dancer Oleg Ivenko is astonishing as
Nureyev: not only is he convincing as Nureyev the dancer, but also as Rudolf
the artist, the free spirit, a young man coming to terms with who he is and
what he could be.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3P10PaJ9nOYrzTrogUSnDs6aYvIsdTv-SiXCJnp1T2ES-gMbww00-0QRKxDsyPyMYOERDpWY1N6je5RPyBIpmRrGJ3cjb-6vlzlDiP88bEv0eD4HrNVSzci8Y-cp8_azFMXY8nRKld4_k/s1600/Favourite.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="259" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3P10PaJ9nOYrzTrogUSnDs6aYvIsdTv-SiXCJnp1T2ES-gMbww00-0QRKxDsyPyMYOERDpWY1N6je5RPyBIpmRrGJ3cjb-6vlzlDiP88bEv0eD4HrNVSzci8Y-cp8_azFMXY8nRKld4_k/s320/Favourite.png" width="214" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5083738/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">The Favourite</a>: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">hugely
entertaining, blackly comic period romp from Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, and
The Killing of a Sacred Deer) that will garner multiple nominations from every
major awards body, in particular for its trio of leading ladies: Olivia Colman,
Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone. Colman channels Miranda Richardson’s Queenie as Queen
Anne in the early 18</span><sup style="font-family: 'Times New Roman';">th</sup><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;"> Century, struggling with her health and to
lead England in the war against France. In both matters, she relies heavily on
her friend and right-hand woman, Weisz’s Duchess of Marlborough. Their
sympatico is rent asunder by the arrival of Stone’s Abigail and a battle of
wits ensues. Nicholas Hoult lends excellent support as a leading Whig. Be
warned this is not a traditional British period piece: the language is fairly
salty with a number of delicious deployments of the c-word.</span></div>
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<b><i>Opens 1 January</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6205872/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Assassination Nation</a>:
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townsfolk (in Purge-like scenes). Partly a warning about what you say and how
much you reveal about yourself on social media, and partly a rallying cry to
women everywhere to not take any shit from any man.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Opens 23 November</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-84131141487782745712018-10-24T13:01:00.000+01:002018-10-24T13:56:21.268+01:00London Film Festival 2018: the best of the fest - part 1<div class="MsoNormal">
With the dust now settling on the London Film Festival 2018,
it’s time to look back and highlight the best films I saw so you know what to
look out for in the coming months.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I saw 30 films at the LFF this year (taking my lifetime total to 480 films seen at the LFF), and I’ve highlighted 20
to look out for. Where known, I have listed the film’s release date.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7738450/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Thunder Road</a>:
intense, blackly comic character study of a cop on the edge. At times more
excruciating than The Office (I didn’t know whether to laugh, cry or exit the
cinema), the film belongs to writer-director Jim Cummings who also fearlessly
plays the ‘hero’ to stunning effect. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7329810/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Bill Murray Stories</a>:
who knew a documentary could be so life-affirming?! This features the real
stories of Bill Murray ‘gatecrashing’ ordinary people’s lives and taking them
on mini-adventures. Quite moving in its own way.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4L7C9ki2MQsyDPjCGd_Dtg-SLtl3lNX8UHPAX_RYV5iLGqpKWKwrB7L94cYXhbBissoxpC8Kda4mLGsP3Z5_ORZbx6LhWSFTcny6pwi-pw7nzW5m_CmMf7D2hswHuL6ODdmwRLC2vuPn/s1600/Guilty.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="220" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD4L7C9ki2MQsyDPjCGd_Dtg-SLtl3lNX8UHPAX_RYV5iLGqpKWKwrB7L94cYXhbBissoxpC8Kda4mLGsP3Z5_ORZbx6LhWSFTcny6pwi-pw7nzW5m_CmMf7D2hswHuL6ODdmwRLC2vuPn/s320/Guilty.png" width="215" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6742252/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">The Guilty</a>:
Hitchcockian thriller from Denmark. The less you know the better, but the
set-up is simple: the action focuses on an operative in the police call centre
handling incoming emergency calls; we see only him and his colleagues, but we
can hear the distressed persons he hears on his headset. By the end of his
shift, he will not be the same. Perfectly executed. Probably my favourite film
of the festival. See it ASAP!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><b>Opens 26 October</b></i><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6820256/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Arctic</a>:
Mads Mikkelsen does All Is Lost… on ice! Gripping survival thriller. Mads, as
expected, gives his all. Watch on the biggest screen that you can find.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5501104/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Border</a>:
a modern fairytale that has shades of both Shyamalan and Lynch, where the
fantastic is real, and the real is fantastic. It’s based on a book by the man who gave us the original story for Let The Right One In: so expect some
gender-bending and some pyscho-sexual weirdness. A beautiful piece of work
anchored by a strong performance from Eva Melander as the customs officer who
seems to have the power to smell guilt on a person.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6966692/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Green Book</a>:
hugely entertaining, feel good crowd-pleaser, buoyed by engaging performances
from co-leads Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen as, respectively, the
successful African-American pianist who hires an Italian-American to be his
driver/hired muscle while on a tour of the American South in the 1960s.
Directed gently by, would you believe, by Peter Farrelly of There’s Something
About Mary, Dumb And Dumber fame.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Opens 1 February</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2837574/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">The Old Man & The Gun</a>:
another crowd-pleaser that sees Robert Redford dominating the screen with his
easy charm as an elderly gentleman bank robber. Humourous, touching and a
reminder that you’re never too old to continue to embrace life. Redford’s
scenes with Sissy Spacek are delicious morsels to be savoured.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Opens 7 December</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7959216/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Utoya – 22 July</a>:
not to be confused with Paul Greengrass’s film of the same terrorist attack
(nor to be thought of as ‘entertainment’), this Norwegian mini-epic is utterly
compelling and justifiably uncomfortable. Its 92-minute runtime includes one
72-minute take that details the terrorist's massacre of 69 young people on an
island holiday camp. Giving no oxygen of publicity to the attacker, the film
immerses the audience (courtesy of cinematographer Martin Otterbeck’s sterling
work), ensuring we share the victims’ horror and fear. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Opens 26 October</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjisqzgKOf5WA4ppdQUcQkeE1XnJMpfNFD3okpThF-HRjgUs-fAoURoxuNSI0n7je2rkLFOhyy8f9xpFqd_Xw9OOMFJsf92iXH90rfk3ojAHYby51uM8FkF-578Oikd0Cy9mAPgvxfSXp7o/s1600/Destroyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="540" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjisqzgKOf5WA4ppdQUcQkeE1XnJMpfNFD3okpThF-HRjgUs-fAoURoxuNSI0n7je2rkLFOhyy8f9xpFqd_Xw9OOMFJsf92iXH90rfk3ojAHYby51uM8FkF-578Oikd0Cy9mAPgvxfSXp7o/s320/Destroyer.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7137380/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Destroyer</a>:
neo-noir thriller that could see Nicole Kidman pitching for Oscar and Bafta glory
as a grizzled, washed-up LAPD cop facing a fresh case that may have connections
to the case that broke her and made her what she is now. Great soundtrack and
cinematography, and two classic, tense bank robberies.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Opens 25 January</i></b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7074886/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">The Front Runner</a>:
classy political thriller nominally charting the three weeks in which the
wheels come off Gary Hart’s run for the Democratic presidential nomination in
spring 1987 after the press got wind of his affair with Donna Rice. Hugh
Jackman plays Hart with aplomb, but the real joy in this is its detailing of a
watershed moment for the US press as political coverage goes tabloid and notice
is served on white male entitlement.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i>Opens 11 January</i></b><o:p></o:p><br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
Continue with <a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.com/2018/10/london-film-festival-2018-best-of-fest_24.html" target="_blank">my round-up</a>.</div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-13196922209202689222018-01-09T11:47:00.001+00:002018-01-09T11:53:41.128+00:00Golden Stans 2017<div class="MsoNormal">
The drift of one year into the next means it’s time to
reflect on the films that grabbed my attention in 2017. I saw 115 films last
year, 35 of which were classics or repeat screenings, leaving 80 to compete in
the Golden Stans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As is tradition, I shall start with the <b>Cone of Shame</b>: I was
tempted to offer up the Warner Bros studio exec who approved Blade Runner
2049’s run time (two hours and 43 minutes FFS!), or Zack Snyder & co for
the limp Justice League (in extreme contrast to the success of Wonder Woman),
but I’ve opted to direct my ire at Alexander Payne. I really enjoyed Election,
Sideways, The Descendants and Nebraska but Downsizing was very disappointing
indeed, a promising premise and cast utterly wasted. The essential plot device
(shrinking people down to only a few centimetres high) could have made a
thought-provoking slice of sc-fi in Alex Garland’s hands, but Payne and his
regular co-writer graft on a Capra-esque journey of self-discovery and a
rom-com, neither of which convince. And the characterisation of Hong Chau’s
cleaner and inspiration for the hero’s journey is, as some of my friends would
say, a bit ‘racist’.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s the negativity done with: on with the positives. The
shortlist for <b>Best Score</b> features three outstanding pieces of work: Ola
Flottum’s themes emphasised the weirdness and unknown at the heart of Thelma;
Erik Friedlander took a leaf out of the original Planet of the Apes for his
rhythmic soundscapes in Thoroughbreds; and Carter Bulwell helped leave me in a
blubbery mess by the end Wonderstruck. However, the Golden Stan goes to Rupert
Gregson-Williams for his stirring themes in Wonder Woman, in particular during
the set piece in No Man’s Land.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Staying with sound, Darren Aronofsky’s mother! was notable
for spatial deployment of sound effects, and thus Paula Fairfield & co
secure a special nod.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aronosky’s biblical parable also features on the shortlist
for <b>Best Editing</b>:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Andrew Weisblum for mother!</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Tania Galis for Erase and Forget</span></li>
</ul>
Weisblum’s work on mother!, like much of the film, was a
technical tour de force, bombarding the viewer’s senses. Galis, however,
secures the Golden Stan because she fundamentally shaped the narrative that
makes the documentary about Bo Gritz, the Vietnam vet who served as the
inspiration for John Rambo, so compelling and astonishing. Her eye for
judicious cross-cutting (from talking head interviews, to archive news footage,
to movie footage, and back again) is something else.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The shortlist for the Golden Stan for <b>Best Cinematography</b>
reflects some diverse approaches:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Benji Bakshi for Brawl In Cell Block 99</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Roger Deakins for Blade Runner 2049</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Matthew Libatique for mother!</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Giles Nuttgens for Grain</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Aleksei Rodionov for The Party</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Lyle Vincent for Thoroughbreds</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Ari Wegner for Lady Macbeth</span></li>
</ul>
There’s no doubting Deakins’ brilliance in Blade Runner
(arguably the only unqualified success in the movie) – he was surely always the
only contender for the task?! Bakshi gave Cell Block 99 its own feel, the
bright, bleached look in the opening act in severe contrast to the dimly-lit
violence that follows. Libatique, like everyone involved in mother!, had a
challenge on his hands but consummately met and surpassed it. Nuttgens amd
Rodionov both showcased crisp black and white photography, while Vincent and
Wegner highlighted intriguing angles in their compositions, adding to the feel
of the films.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s almost too obvious to give the award to Deakins, so the
Golden Stan goes to Aleksei Rodionov for The Party, each frame a beautifully
conceived work of art in itself.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the shortlist for <b>Best Adapted Screenplay</b>:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Park Chan-wook and Chung Seo-kyung for The
Handmaiden</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Scott Frank, James Mangold and Michael Green for
Logan</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Paul King and Simon Farnaby for Paddington 2</span></li>
</ul>
Taking Sara Waters novel, Fingersmith (adapted for TV by the
Beeb in 2005) and firmly planting it in another culture while staying true to
the spirit of the original yet still reflecting the director’s key peccadilloes
was a remarkable feat for Chan-wook and Seo-kyung.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Paul King and Simon Farnaby almost pulled off the impossible,
delivering a sequel almost equal to the first Paddington.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, Frank, Mangold and Green take the award for
distilling the essence of Mark Millar’s celebrated Old Man Logan comic,
crafting on huge chunks of Unforgiven and creating a treatise on the effects of
violence that pulls no punches, offering no easy answers and an utterly
unheroic super hero.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The <b>Best Original Screenplay</b> shortlist features four distinct
voices – all of them writer/directors:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Julia Ducournau for Raw</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Jordan Peele for Get Out</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Taylor Sheridan for Wind River</span></li>
</ul>
I really enjoy Sheridan’s neo-westerns and his latest
featured another strong sense of locale, once again beyond the reach of the
law.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Peele’s Get Out script was a rare example of medium and
message combining perfectly.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gerwig’s not-so-autobiographical script gave plenty of space
for its key characters to breathe, gently subverting coming-of-age tropes as it
went.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the Golden Stan goes to Julia Ducournau for Raw: similar
to Peele, she doesn’t allow her use of symbolism and desire to get a message
across to cheapen the utterly believable characters.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On to the acting categories, and first up, it’s <b>Best
Supporting Actor</b>:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Maged El Kedwany for Sheikh Jackson</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Cillian Murphy for The Party</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Dev Patel for Lion</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Simon Russell Beale for The Death of Stalin</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Adam Sandler for The Meyerowitz Stories</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Timothy Spall for The Party</span></li>
</ul>
Adam Sandler, if not a revelation in Meyerowitz, is
nevertheless outstanding, delivering the best performance of his career.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Spall and Murphy expectedly make the most of their small
roles in The Party, while Russell Beale spits out every line to comedic
perfection in Stalin.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dev Patel really proved himself in Lion (I think the
physical bulking up for the role genuinely improved his screen presence), but
the Golden Stan goes to Maged El Kedwany for his conflicted father, a character
and performance that suggests there could be light at the end of the tunnel for
Egypt.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the shortlist for <b>Best Supporting Actress</b>:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Patricia Clarkson for The Party</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Laurie Metcalf for Lady Bird</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Julianne Moore for Wonderstruck</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Kristin Scott-Thomas for The Party</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Sarah Silverman for Battle of the Sexes</span></li>
</ul>
Clarkson as the cynic with the acerbic one-liners and
Scott-Thomas as the shadow minister on the edge were predictably excellent in
The Party.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sarah Silverman dealt her one-liners with panache and not a
little venom in Battle, while Moore was heart-breaking in the heart-breaking
Wonderstruck.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, the Golden Stan goes to Laurie Metcalf for her
loving but vexed mum in Lady Bird.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The shortlist for <b>Best Actor</b> is short, highlighting a dearth
of great roles and performances in 2017:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Timothee Chalamet for Call Me By Your Name</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Steve Carrell for Battle of the Sexes</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Ahmad El-Fishawy for Sheikh Jackson</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Hugh Jackman for Logan</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Rolf Lassgard for A Man Called Ove</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">James McAvoy for Split</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Charlie Plummer for Lean On Pete</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Vince Vaughn for Brawl In Cell Block 99</span></li>
</ul>
Chalamet was stunning in Your Name; Carrell was born to play
Bobby Riggs; El-Fishawy undoubtedly did his bit to fashion such an intriguing
and realistic Michael Jackson fan torn between his muse and his faith; and
Jackman put himself and his best-known screen alter-ego to the sword.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Vaughn and McAvoy both enjoyed a mini-renaissance (for the
record, I always thought Vaughn was good but just hadn’t found enough of the
right roles): they’re astonishingly effective in their respective roles.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rolf Lassgard, as the titular Ove, had much to sink his
teeth into and did so without falling into an obviously comedic-tragic
performance.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the Golden Stan goes to teenager Charlie Plummer: he is
the entire focus of Lean On Pete, and while surrounded by some of the best
character actors Hollywood has to offer, his performance has to carry the film
– and carry it he does, with assured aplomb. One to watch in the future. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Given the year Hollywood has had, it’s pleasing to report
that there were so many great performances by actresses (noticeably more so
than for the men), such that my shortlist for <b>Best Actress</b> is not very short:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Emily Beecham for Daphne</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Carla Gugino for Gerald’s Game</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Sandra Huller for Toni Erdmann</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Jennifer Lawrence for mother!</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Garance Marillier for Raw</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Aubrey Plaza for Ingrid Goes West</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Florence Pugh for Lady Macbeth</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Samantha Robinson for The Love Witch</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Saoirse Ronan for On Chesil Beach, and Lady Bird</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Anya Taylor-Joy for Split, and Thoroughbreds</span></li>
</ul>
It’s a shame that Emily Beecham’s performance appeared after
Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag: her Daphne felt like a less comedic Fleabag,
but her performance was fine on its own terms.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other British actresses also had a field day: Florence Pugh
was an utterly compelling screen presence in Lady Macbeth; Saoirse Ronan walked
fine lines of comedy, drama and tragedy in her two coming-of-age roles; and
Anya Taylor-Joy showcased resilience in Split and was delightfully disaffected
in Thoroughbreds.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aubrey Plaza gave a nuanced and clearly deeply thought-out
performance as the titular Ingrid.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Samantha Robinson’s deliberately blank and affected
performance helped hold Love Witch together.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carla Gugino pulled out all the stops as the [spoilers –
redacted] tied to the bed for the vast majority of the Gerald’s Game.
Similarly, J-Law had to go for it in Aronofsky’s mother!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sandra Huller was brilliant in Toni Erdmann as the daughter
with significant daddy issues, and in any other year, she would probably win
the award, however the Golden Stan for Best Actress goes to Garance Marillier.
She was completely convincing as the first-time cannibal at the heart of Raw: I
can’t think of a more fully realised character in 2017 than hers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is the shortlist for <b>Best Director</b>:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Darren Aronofsky for mother!</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Julia Ducournau for Raw</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Andrew Haig for Lean On Pete</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Todd Haynes for Wonderstruck</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">James Mangold for Logan</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Edgar Wright for Baby Driver</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">S Craig Zahler for Brawl In Cell Block 99</span></li>
</ul>
Aronofsky is not everybody’s cup of tea, but there’s no
doubting his technical prowess: mother! is a technical tour de force (just
would have helped if someone else had written the script!).<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Impassioned grasps of technique were also showcased by
Wright and Nolan – it will be interesting to see if any of the old guard learn
lessons from these two or try to ape them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mangold and Zahler crafted meaningful art out of their pulpy
scenarios, and drew career-best performances from their respective leads.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lean On Pete was unmistakeably an Andrew Haigh film, with
the director successfully relocating his sensibilities to backwater America.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Todd Haynes’ touch was delicate but firm on Wonderstruck,
teasing the narrative and emotional twists and turns to a controlled crescendo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But the Golden Stan for Best Director goes to Julia
Ducournau: Raw is perfectly crafted, every frame and performance a delight.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now it’s time for the final award, the big one, the Golden
Stan for <b>Best Film</b>. There are some noticeable omissions (Toni Erdmann was too
long and too slow; I only saw Blade Runner 2049 once and need to see it again
to come to a reasoned opinion, but again too long and too slow). Here, in the
order I saw them, are the films that affected me most in 2017:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li>The Love Witch: a delicious concoction that
should have made Samantha Robinson the next big thing.</li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Logan: one of the most interesting (and
<a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/logan-finally-wolverine.html" target="_blank">certainly the bleakest</a>) comic book movies since the genre became a thing with
the X-Men in 2000; more than $600m worldwide box office proved Mangold and
Jackman right – there is a market for R-rated comic book movies.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Get Out: electric audience reaction made this a
film that absolutely had to be seen in a cinema.</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Raw: a detailed examination of one of the last great
taboos; sometimes hard to watch, but I couldn’t look away. Shades of Cronenberg
and Fincher here.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The Handmaiden: a deliciously decadent
concoction; perversely, the standard cut is better than the Director’s Cut.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Clash: gripping Egyptian action drama set inside
a police van during a citywide riot.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Split: M Night Shyamalan crafted a strange
beast, almost imperceptibly ratcheting up the tension; can’t wait for January
2019 when he unleashes Glass.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Wonder Woman: Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot & co
delivered the second-best super hero movie of the year, but it was the <a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/wondering-about-wonder-woman.html" target="_blank">mostimportant super hero movie of the year</a>; featured the most stirring moment of
the year in the No Man’s Land sequence.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">A Man Called Ove: this could have been ‘just’ an
extended episode of One Foot In The Grave, but the love and tragedy at its
heart lift it beyond that; I was in bits at the end. It managed to deliver a
gag that made me cry both because it was both funny and sad.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Baby Driver: Edgar Wright’s response to Mad Max:
Fury Road? This arthouse action movie delivered in spades, especially the music
video-style intro.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Dunkirk: masterpiece of pure cinema from a
modern master. A film made for IMAX, delivering total immersion for the
audience. Particular mention should go to Zimmer for that score and the
inclusion of Nimrod.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Wind River: compelling neo-Western with one of
the tensest scenes of the year. I can’t wait to see what Taylor Sheridan
directs next.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Wonderstruck: ridiculously moving children’s
fairy tale for adults; deserves to each a wide audience.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Lean On Pete: not at the same level as 45 Years,
but this modern horse opera/road movie crossover was deeply affecting; what a
performance from Charlie Plummer.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Erase And Forget: this headlong dive into the
life and times of Bo Gritz, the Vietnam vet who served as the inspiration for
John Rambo, is timely and never less than astonishing, touching on many hot
topics (gun control, the lingering damage of Vietnam on the US psyche, the
space where myth becomes fact and vice versa).</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Small Town Crime: the whole is greater than the
sum of its parts; this neo-Western features a great turn by John Hawkes as a
wasted cop who loses his badge; notable support from Robert Forster.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Brawl In Cell Block 99: when you absolutely,
positively need to crush someone’s head, best call Vince Vaughn. Unrelenting
brutality, Shakespearean tragedy. Hard to watch, but I want to watch it again
and again.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Lady Bird: greater than the sum of its parts and
substantially better than the trailer makes it look. An absolute delight.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">78/52: cracking documentary about the shower
scene in Psycho; a must-see for any film fan.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Star Wars: The Last Jedi: it had its issues, but
brave of Disney and Lucas Film to allow Rian Johnson to use a franchise film to
explore the importance of failure and to debate the power and dangers of myth,
both textually and subtextually.</span></li>
</ul>
There has to be a Best Film, and that Golden Stan goes to
Raw, just edging Dunkirk. Both films highlighted directors with an
exceptionally keen eye for detail in every element of the production, but Julia
Ducournau’s Raw was even more riveting than Dunkirk. The sheer precision in
every scene, every line, every composition, every location and lighting choice
is awe-inspiring; Ducournau’s own script allows the key characters plenty of room
to develop and breathe, generating audience empathy with these taboo-breakers –
I was utterly immersed in their lives. We may have a long wait for another from Ducournau (Raw appears to have been something of a passion project), but I hope it will be worth the wait.<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-40856045294827999072018-01-06T14:43:00.001+00:002018-01-06T14:43:42.459+00:002017 box office review<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFQa5pbKqnLF-uzIE-JeB8wIbaDP6rhk7frkBhtQmieLKpk9ilzFds_M9aSz-y9v-2fNc_R13pObI1S_DUyv8RNCfNYiTL5ZjrOrGgbkpE35d46R0V2TmAcst605v1pm94De6Wk0rD2CD/s1600/BandB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="326" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEFQa5pbKqnLF-uzIE-JeB8wIbaDP6rhk7frkBhtQmieLKpk9ilzFds_M9aSz-y9v-2fNc_R13pObI1S_DUyv8RNCfNYiTL5ZjrOrGgbkpE35d46R0V2TmAcst605v1pm94De6Wk0rD2CD/s200/BandB.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>
2017 was another banner year for Disney with six of the 20
most successful films of the year, including five of the top 10!</div>
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The live-action remake of Beauty & The Beast was the
worldwide number 1, hauling in more than $1.2bn. It took £72.4m in the UK, holding
the weekly number one spot for three weekends. As 2017 closed out, its top
position in the UK came under threat from The Last Jedi. Belle and her beastly
partner finished second in the US chart and finished fourth on the
international chart. The only territory that the film didn’t perform to an
exceptionally high level was China, where it pulled in just less than $86m.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The Fate of the Furious drove off with the worldwide number
two and international number one position at $1.2bn and $1bn respectively:
that’s right, Fate’s performance was very heavily skewed to the international
and Chinese markets – its $225m US take is not to be sniffed at, but its
biggest single market was China with nearly $400m. So, the eighth instalment in
the franchise was slightly bigger than the previous series high in China, but
in the US fell behind the seventh and sixth films.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The ninth and 10<sup>th</sup> films are already on the slate
for 2020 and 2021 in case you’re suffering withdrawal symptoms…</div>
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The eighth part of the Star Wars saga gatecrashed the charts
in the final fortnight of the year. While not the once-in-a-generation
phenomenon that Force Awakens was, Last Jedi easily dominated screens and the
box office, just nabbing third place worldwide on new year’s eve as it crossed the
$1bn mark. It topped the US chart with $517.4m, was eighth internationally on
$523m (noticeably driven by the traditional international markets like the UK,
Germany and France), and just fell short of catching Belle in the UK with £68.3m.
It will be released in China in early 2018.</div>
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The world’s fourth most successful film performed in much
the same way as Fate: Despicable Me 3’s total of $1bn included a 28% fall from
the previous film in the US to $264.6m as the international haul increased 28%
to nearly $800m. It ranked fourth in the UK and 13<sup>th</sup> in China.</div>
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Less than $100m separated the next six films on the chart.
The Marvel-produced but Sony-owned-and-distributed Spider-Man ended the year as
the most successful comic book adaptation with $880m worldwide: it crossed the
$300m barrier in the US, the £30m barrier in the UK and the $500m barrier
internationally.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Next up is Wolf Warrior 2, a Chinese megahit that took more
than $800m in China alone.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6VEUTah6UdrVJdKcRyYSxqdbO7WQZUPZKPD27_TdfZpTczsxVIF8Z4-L9qYAtHIZ_5lPoaHfR8Y5DAfi5ny3IxxWJWI5I1fixx_gJdLY_FhJ-ag72GM0Gdc93p78kkCJT9MiuA4SI9KY/s1600/GotG+vol2jpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="384" data-original-width="259" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6VEUTah6UdrVJdKcRyYSxqdbO7WQZUPZKPD27_TdfZpTczsxVIF8Z4-L9qYAtHIZ_5lPoaHfR8Y5DAfi5ny3IxxWJWI5I1fixx_gJdLY_FhJ-ag72GM0Gdc93p78kkCJT9MiuA4SI9KY/s200/GotG+vol2jpg.jpg" width="134" /></a></div>
Marvel Studios’ Guardians 2 and Thor 3 were neck-and-neck.
Overall Thor was more successful internationally, but Guardians trumped the
Thunder God in both the US and the UK.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
While only the fourth most financially successful comic book
movie, Wonder Woman was undoubtedly the best to watch and the most culturally
significant. It rode a wave of female empowerment in the US, pocketing more
than $400m; however, it couldn’t hope to perform as well internationally – the
character isn’t that well known – but it still pulled in another $409m. Diana
didn’t seem to catch fire with UK audiences in the same way as in the US: I
can’t put my finger on the reason why. Nevertheless, a total of £22m in the UK
isn’t to be sniffed at.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The fifth Pirates movie, like its predecessor, relied
heavily on the international market, which contributed more than 75% of its
worldwide take.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Alongside Wonder Woman, the other shock performer was It:
nearly $700m worldwide (without securing a release in China) off a budget of
just $35m meant somebody took home a huge xmas bonus. It grossed more than Thor
3 in the US and the UK (nobody would have offered you odds on that at the start
of the year)!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
The comic book disappointment of the year is next: Justice
League earned less than Wonder Woman, its gross at the $650m mark as 2017
finished. The League failed to make the UK top 20, and struggled to match Logan
in the US (which was R-rated!). Again, nobody would have given you odds on that
a year ago! Next for DC is Aquaman in time for Xmas 2018.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Among the remainder of the worldwide top 25, the other
performances worthy of mention are: Dunkirk, with $525m, nearly one sixth of
which came from the UK (where it spent four weeks at number one in the height
of the summer); Pixar’s Coco ended the year with more than $500m in the bank
and has yet to open in many traditional box office strongholds; and La La Land,
singing and dancing to more than $400m (including £30m from the UK).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Aside from the Last Jedi, other films were just beginning to
make their presence felt as the year ended: Jumanji made the top 25 in both the
UK and the US after less than a fortnight on release; and Paddington 2 picked
up where its predecessor left off and was closing in on the £40m mark as 2018
started.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It should be noted that the top four international
performers in 2017 beat 2016’s champ, Captain America: Civil War.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In many traditional key markets, the question now is whether
franchise fatigue has set in. <o:p></o:p></div>
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50 Shades Darker whipped up one third less of a frenzy than
the first entry in the series (yet still pulled in more than £23m in the UK). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
War for the Planet of the Apes performed only marginally
better than the first instalment of the new trilogy from 2011 ($490m against
$492m) and fell substantially short of the peak reached by the second film in
2014 ($710.6m).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pirates 5 was the lowest entry in the franchise in the US
and the UK. Indeed, across eight of the largest territories (Australia, Brazil,
France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Russia and the UK), Pirates 5’s total was just
$225m against Pirates 4’s $423m…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Transformers: Last Knight’s worldwide haul was 45% lower
than its $1bn predecessor. Its top nine traditional markets generated just $125m
compared with $292m from its predecessor.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In both cases, China saved the day, generating $172m and
nearly $229m respectively.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
China was the single largest territory for the likes of
Kong: Skull Island (nearly 30% of its worldwide total), XXX3 (47%) and Resident
Evil: Final Chapter (51%).<br />
<br />
But in some cases, even China couldn’t save the day. Yes,
it’s time to talk about those embarrassing flops. Probably the worst case was Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur: with
a budget of $175m, it pulled in less than $150m worldwide. Following on the
back of the Man from UNCLE, Ritchie needs a proper hit – and he’s guaranteed
it, as he’s in the hot seat for the live action remake of Aladdin, due for
release in 2019.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Luc Besson went from feast to famine, from Lucy’s $463m off
a budget of $40m in 2014 to the disaster that was Valerian and the City of A
Thousand Planets: with a budget of $177m, it took just $225m.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4vjFCRv23VlftV0Ma4jgU-TV9hxSh9vH3_PxKVoPv0ycDeVwIo33cTi6N-dsYOoKgEbvMowxdsOlh6QnycaBAgAQq4O7CqVnNznoYhIXFW0-kzV7YoKTcMdQ0EzbQLy641u8o8bxTu7C/s1600/The+Mummy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="348" data-original-width="220" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4vjFCRv23VlftV0Ma4jgU-TV9hxSh9vH3_PxKVoPv0ycDeVwIo33cTi6N-dsYOoKgEbvMowxdsOlh6QnycaBAgAQq4O7CqVnNznoYhIXFW0-kzV7YoKTcMdQ0EzbQLy641u8o8bxTu7C/s200/The+Mummy.jpg" width="126" /></a>The Tom Cruise-fronted Mummy was meant to launch Universal’s
Dark Universe, and while $409m would seem OK for an entirely new and original
franchise launch, for an age-old property that cost £125m and was fronted by
Tom Cruise, it’s simply not enough. The film’s largest single territory was
China with $91.7m. Like Transformers 5, The Mummy couldn’t clear the £10m
barrier in the UK.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ghost In The Shell cost $110m and generated just less than
$170m, while the Dark Tower pulled in nearly $112m off a positively modest $60m
budget.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
Blade Runner 2049 cost $150m and fell just short of $260m,
and thus a little too closely mirrored the financial performance of its
illustrious origin.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
On a more positive note, the most successful truly original
films (ie not based on an existing story or characters, fictional or not) were
La La Land, Sing (a holdover from 2016 into 2017), Split ($278.3m) and Get Out
($254.3m, most of that from the US it should be noted). Indeed, the top three
horror films of the year (It, Split and Get Out) cost a total of $48.5m and
generated a total box office of more than $1.2bn!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Worldwide Top 25 in 2017<o:p></o:p></div>
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Beauty & The Beast $1,263.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Fate of the Furious $1,235.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Star Wars: The Last Jedi $1,040.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Despicable Me 3 $1,033.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Spider-Man: Homecoming $880.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wolf Warrior 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$870.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Guardians of the Galaxy 2 $863.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thor: Ragnarok<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$848.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wonder Woman<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$821.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pirates 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$794.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
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It $698.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Justice League<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$650.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Logan $616.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Transformers: Last Knight<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$605.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Kong: Skull Island<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$566.7m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Coco<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$547.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Dunkirk<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$525m<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Boss Baby<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$498.9m<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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War for the Planet of the Apes<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>$490.7m<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Mummy<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$409.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
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La La Land<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$404.2m<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Kingsman 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$395.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cars 3<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$383.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sing<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$381.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
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50 Shades Darker<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> $</span>381m<o:p></o:p></div>
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UK Top 25 in 2017<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Beauty & The Beast<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>£72.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Star Wars: The Last Jedi<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>£68.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dunkirk<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>£56.7m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despicable Me 3 £47.7m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 £41m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Paddington 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>£37.6m
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>£32.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thor: Ragnarok<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>£30.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Spider-Man: Homecoming £30.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
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La La Land £30.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fast & Furious 8<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>£29.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sing<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>£29.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Boss Baby<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>£29.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Lego Batman Movie<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>£27.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kingsman 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>£24.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Logan<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>£23.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Murder On The Orient Express £23.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fifty Shades Darker<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>£23.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wonder Woman<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>£22.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
War for the Planet of the Apes £20.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pirates 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>£19.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Blade Runner 2049<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>£19m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jumanji<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>£17.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Justice League<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>£17.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
T2 Trainspotting<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>£17m<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
International Top 25 in 2017<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Fate of the Furious<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$1,010m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wolf Warrior 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$867.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despicable Me 3<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$768.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Beauty & The Beast<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$759.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pirates 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$622.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Spider-Man: Homecoming<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$546m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thor: Ragnarok<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$537.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Star Wars: The Last Jedi<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$523m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Transformers: The Last Knight<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>$475.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Guardians of the Galaxy<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$473.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Justice League<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$425m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wonder Woman<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$409.2m
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kong: Skull Island<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$398.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Logan<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$390.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$370.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Coco<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>$367.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Your Name<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$350.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
War for the Planet of the Apes<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>$343.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dunkirk<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$337m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Never Say Die<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$333.9m
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Mummy<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$329m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Boss Baby<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$323.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
XXX 3<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$301.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kingsman 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$295.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>$285.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
US Top 25 in 2017<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Star Wars: The Last Jedi<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$517.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Beauty & The Beast<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$504m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wonder Woman $412.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Guardians of the Galaxy 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$389.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Spider-Man: Homecoming<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$334.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It $327.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thor: Ragnarok<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$311.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despicable Me 3<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$264.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Logan<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$226.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Fate of the Furious<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$225.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Justice League<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$225.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dunkirk<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$188m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Coco<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$179.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Lego Batman Movie<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$175.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Get Out<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$175.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Boss Baby<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$175m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pirates 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$172.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jumanji<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$169m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kong: Skull Island<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$168.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hidden Figures<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$167.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Cars 3<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$152.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
War for the Planet of the Apes<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>$146.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Split<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$138.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Transformers: The Last Knight<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>$130.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rogue One<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$123.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
China Top 25 in 2017<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wolf Warrior 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$854.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Fate of the Furious<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$392.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Never Say Die<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$333.9m<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kung Fu Yoga<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$254.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back $239.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Transformers: The Last Knight $228.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dangal<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$193.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Pirates 5<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$172.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kong: Skull Island<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$168.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Coco<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$167.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
XXX 3<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$164.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Resident Evil: Final Chapter<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>$159.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despicable Me 3<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$158.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Duckweed<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$152.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Youth<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$125.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kingsman 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$116.7m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Spider-Man: Homecoming<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$116.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
War for the Planet of the Apes<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>$112.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thor: Ragnarok<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$112.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Buddies In India<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$109.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Logan<span style="mso-tab-count: 5;"> </span>$106m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Justice League<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>$104.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wukong<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$103.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Guardians of the Galaxy 2<span style="mso-tab-count: 2;"> </span>$100.7m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Mummy<span style="mso-tab-count: 4;"> </span>$91.7m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Box office data sourced from <a href="http://boxofficemojo.com/">Boxofficemojo.com</a>,
<a href="http://screendaily.com/">Screendaily.com</a> and the <a href="http://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/film-industry-statistics-research/weekend-box-office-figures" target="_blank">BFI</a><o:p></o:p></div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-32413256267445561202017-12-24T19:08:00.000+00:002018-01-02T09:59:40.954+00:002018: forthcoming films<div class="MsoNormal">
What filmic delights does 2018 offer? Read on to find out!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0obZH1uT_-JWKN6HFVnVQI8DwoKfWuXOOt5IfUiw1sx_6qDKEYOGeuxQViJ6e-8Ix6AAcB7uNobnNDu8EkjrgtWymKQJWhIsx1hyh38RX8ByOZtnru_HibwWnwh8onijhwrYnlYBItfLs/s1600/Mollys+game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="889" data-original-width="600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0obZH1uT_-JWKN6HFVnVQI8DwoKfWuXOOt5IfUiw1sx_6qDKEYOGeuxQViJ6e-8Ix6AAcB7uNobnNDu8EkjrgtWymKQJWhIsx1hyh38RX8ByOZtnru_HibwWnwh8onijhwrYnlYBItfLs/s320/Mollys+game.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jan 1</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4209788/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Molly’s Game</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aaron Sorkin directs Jessica Chastain in this passed-over awards season contender
(left).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<ddiv class="MsoNormal">
Jan 5</ddiv>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5294550/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">All The Money In The World</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Ridley Scott take on the Getty kidnap in the 70s; Spacey was Getty, but got replaced just six weeks before release by Christopher Plummer. Awards season contender.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5478478/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Hostiles</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Apparently astonishing performance by Christian Bale in this violent Western.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jan 12</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4555426/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Darkest Hour</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gary Oldman is Winston Churchill as, if the scuttlebutt is to be believed, you've never seen him before. Oscar ahoy for Oldman?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5027774/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Big awards season contender from Martin McDonagh. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jan 19</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6294822/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">The Post</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The new Spielberg with Hanks and Streep as the head honchos of the Washington Post as it reports Vietnam.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2380307/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Coco</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The new Pixar, set against the Mexican day of the dead. Reviews from mixed to stunning.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1389072/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Downsizing</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Very poor from Alexander Payne, I'm sad to say.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jan 26</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4701724/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Early Man</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The new Aardman Animation opus.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6018306/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Last Flag Flying</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Carrell, Cranston and Fishburne in the pseudo sequel to The Last Detail; directed by Linklater.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Feb 2</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5776858/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Phantom Thread</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hard-to-give-a-damn latest from PT Anderson; DDL in the lead, natch.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3780500/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Journey’s End</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sam Claflin leads the line in this WWI trench adaptation.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Feb 9</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3319730/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">The Mercy</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Colin Firth as a yachtsman who spins outrageous lies about what befell him in a major race.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Feb 12</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidSEtVaSt32dSXVJ-91iEQVtJ6Rgtc2kGVo6rab4d-g1hz7EpgBGHIZwvrdsnMvPgGON_Tmpc1OYro1Y30TWZA1UuZ5sx1SmvbKVrJsM4OkoPXVuir8ItFWE_e2XQIS-FYQr1Uda0IGH_/s1600/Black+Panther.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="830" data-original-width="560" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidSEtVaSt32dSXVJ-91iEQVtJ6Rgtc2kGVo6rab4d-g1hz7EpgBGHIZwvrdsnMvPgGON_Tmpc1OYro1Y30TWZA1UuZ5sx1SmvbKVrJsM4OkoPXVuir8ItFWE_e2XQIS-FYQr1Uda0IGH_/s320/Black+Panther.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Black Panther</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ryan Coogler directs the year's first Marvel movie (right) as we see Wakanda for the first time.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Feb 14</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5580390/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Shape of Water</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Guillermo del Toro's awards season favourite. Oscar ahoy for Sally Hawkins. You'll believe a mute woman and a half-fish/half-man can fall in love. Bring the hankies.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Feb 23</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2798920/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Annihilation</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The new Alex Garland with Natalie Portman in the lead.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4925292/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Lady Bird</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Deft, charming, crowd-pleasing coming of age drama from Greta Gerwig. Saoirse Ronan in awards-worthy form.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5580036/?ref_=nv_sr_2" target="_blank">I, Tonya</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Margot Robbie is Tonya Harding. Oscar nom expected.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5700176/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Dark River</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
British drama set on a farm as the daughter returns home after her father's death. Premiered at LFF 2017.</div>
<ddiv class="MsoNormal">
</ddiv>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mar 2</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2873282/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Red Sparrow</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The new Jennifer Lawrence action flick that looks a little too much like a Black Widow movie! The trailer had me at 'hello'.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mar 9</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5649108/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Thoroughbreds</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Delicious, off-kilter teen thriller with Olivia Cooke and Anya Taylor-Joy on great form as murderous friends.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mar 16</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1365519/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Tomb Raider</a> </b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I note the release of this purely for the record. Alicia Vikander is Lara Croft. Will anybody care?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mar 23</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2557478/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Pacific Rim Uprising</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The sequel nobody wanted or needed to del Toro's giant robots v monsters flop from a few years ago.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mar 30</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1677720/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Ready Player One</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Not sure who this is meant for. There's quite a lot of Matrix here. Riding the wave of 80s nostalgia post-Stranger Things.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5104604/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Isle of Dogs</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The new animated Wes Anderson, involving, you guessed, dogs.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBApPJQcYP40pSCuqCG1Ub9rVKlk1LMfgwxDSP-FZVP4wpiAjfpp5J2DW5AAvuDH_ATS8uacoWa3fvtOxRN-eA2RTp-B13lui4OeWSkka3gDNcTq91qJ0O1AJcVZJV1M8RUlBUOAnAn_qV/s1600/New+Mutants.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBApPJQcYP40pSCuqCG1Ub9rVKlk1LMfgwxDSP-FZVP4wpiAjfpp5J2DW5AAvuDH_ATS8uacoWa3fvtOxRN-eA2RTp-B13lui4OeWSkka3gDNcTq91qJ0O1AJcVZJV1M8RUlBUOAnAn_qV/s320/New+Mutants.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Apr 11</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4682266/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">New Mutants</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The next X-Men-related movie (left) that seems to be set up more like a horror movie than a metaphor for otherness v the norms of society.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Apr 13</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5516328/?ref_=nv_sr_2" target="_blank">Ghost Stories</a></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
British horror with Martin Freeman in the lead.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Apr 20</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5610554/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Tully</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The new Jason Reitman with Charlize Theron in the lead.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Apr 27</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4154756/?ref_=nv_sr_2" target="_blank">Infinity War</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And so it begins: the beginning of the end of the first phases of the Marvel movies as Thanos arrives. Cap's back with 'that' beard, and the Avengers will ultimately join forces with the Guardians of the Galaxy. One or two characters will surely die...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5628302/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">Beast</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
British indie erotic thriller that won plaudits upon its LFF 2017 premiere.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
May 4</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6644200/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">A Quiet Place</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Emily Blunt in a horror story directed by her husband.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
May 25</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3778644/?ref_=nv_sr_2" target="_blank">Han Solo</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Can it deliver like Rogue One?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jun 1</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5463162/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Deadpool 2</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Can lightning strike twice for Ryan Reynolds' sweary mutant? Josh Brolin arrives as Cable.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jun 8</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4881806/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Jurassic World 2</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I'm guessing some dinosaurs will attack people...</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jun 22</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSpJEfLe85NTAm0NILjBdu3lZgQD_qF6_PkNSkARC_t5qSTJ5X4hvt7Gwin1yex4mHRJ3NkhO9189dyTdVZG9cgWdWJQ_cbhP1P53iNnZ6Qi3UQt0gh9AeFILJBb76LeCkFWGwJGElMZbF/s1600/Oceans+8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1080" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSpJEfLe85NTAm0NILjBdu3lZgQD_qF6_PkNSkARC_t5qSTJ5X4hvt7Gwin1yex4mHRJ3NkhO9189dyTdVZG9cgWdWJQ_cbhP1P53iNnZ6Qi3UQt0gh9AeFILJBb76LeCkFWGwJGElMZbF/s320/Oceans+8.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5164214/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Ocean’s 8</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bullock, Blanchett, Hathaway, HBC, and Paulson in the all-female heist movie (right).</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jun 29</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5052474/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Sicario 2</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A prequel to Sicario, focusing on Benecio del Toro and Josh Brolin.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jul 13</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3606756/?ref_=nv_sr_2" target="_blank">Incredibles 2</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally! Will this be the best super hero movie of 2018?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jul 27</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4912910/?ref_=nv_sr_2" target="_blank">Mission: Impossible 6</a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chris McQuarrie and Tom Cruise seek to outdo Bond again; Rebecca Ferguson returns.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aug 2</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3829266/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Predator </a></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Shane Black remakes the Arnie classic.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aug 3</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5095030/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Ant-Man & The Wasp</a></b></div>
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The sequel to Ant-Man in which Evangeline Lilly dons the Wasp outfit. Michelle Pfeiffer cast as the original and missing in action Wasp.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Sep 14</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2328900/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Mary Queen of Scots</a></b></div>
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Saoirse Ronan is Mary Stuart! Margot Robbie is Queen Elizabeth I!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Sep 28</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6811018/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank">The Kid Who Would Be King</a></b></div>
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The new Joe Cornish!</div>
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<br /></div>
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Oct 5</div>
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270797/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1" target="_blank"><b>Venom</b> </a></div>
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Tom Hardy is Venom in this Spider-Man spin-off. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Oct 19</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2388771/?ref_=nv_sr_2" target="_blank">The Jungle Book</a></b></div>
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The Andy Serkis live-action version, faithful to the original text - so not very Disney then!</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA6pd4nDjvcN4Zd0dGYVhV-r55Clu9UQYmxaIDI3ihTRaivmPqheSB9Zm8l3UyNUHV-cMPelORbNaubCC1JV6Nw6T72OgMQF3pxVd64YcLp1mhkGezwZy36SGon79ZrH9rT2zXPaBuWLbM/s1600/Dark+Phoenix.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="451" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA6pd4nDjvcN4Zd0dGYVhV-r55Clu9UQYmxaIDI3ihTRaivmPqheSB9Zm8l3UyNUHV-cMPelORbNaubCC1JV6Nw6T72OgMQF3pxVd64YcLp1mhkGezwZy36SGon79ZrH9rT2zXPaBuWLbM/s320/Dark+Phoenix.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Oct 31</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt6565702/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Dark Phoenix</a></b></div>
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The third X-Men-related movie of the year sees Sophie Turner's Jean Grey go full Phoenix (left). Directed long-time X-Men movie producer and writer Simon Kinberg; might it actually be good?</div>
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Nov 2</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213641/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">First Man</a></b></div>
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Following Whiplash and La La Land, Damian Chappelle directs Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong.</div>
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Dec 14</div>
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<b><span style="color: #454545; font-family: "helvetica";"><span style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4633694/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse</a></span></span></b></div>
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Animated Spidey, focusing on an alternative universe, introducing Miles Morales as the Ultimate Spider-Man.</div>
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Dec 21</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477834/?ref_=nv_sr_1" target="_blank">Aquaman</a></b></div>
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The only DC movie of 2018, following more than a year after the mess that was Justice League... Saw and Conjuring director James Wan might bring something new to the super hero genre?</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5028340/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1" target="_blank">Mary Poppins Returns</a></b></div>
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Emily Blunt is Mary Poppins...</div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-54185527391990840192017-06-11T14:23:00.002+01:002017-12-24T19:12:26.211+00:00Wondering about Wonder Woman<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JLCugkXAatN9KjqKlIISq9YO3csoygfpBK3HtJMnm47cuByjwZ7woWOnrGNnQ9y-m3Xs7Gfb3OHyB6G8qZoLMDXdT3AEMjziIbLyT77vtqyy1KG6JiC8-bM3OplecxwVXNyTTosZbh4n/s1600/WW-17232cc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="534" data-original-width="800" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0JLCugkXAatN9KjqKlIISq9YO3csoygfpBK3HtJMnm47cuByjwZ7woWOnrGNnQ9y-m3Xs7Gfb3OHyB6G8qZoLMDXdT3AEMjziIbLyT77vtqyy1KG6JiC8-bM3OplecxwVXNyTTosZbh4n/s320/WW-17232cc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Gender box office records broken, glass ceiling smashed,
thousands of words written about the film’s wider impact: nothing’s impossible
for Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman or so it appears. There may be spoilers ahead!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Before I give my witness statement, I need to set myself in
context: yes, I’m a comic geek, but I’m not hugely into DC, outside of Bats and
Supes; I don’t think I’ve ever read an issue of Wonder Woman, but I am a reader
and watcher of Jessica Jones, Black Widow, Captain Marvel, Agent Carter, and Mockingbird
from the Marvel comics, movies and TV series, and also a reader of more female-focussed works such as Bitch Planet, Saga, Black Magick and Velvet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Like many, I wasn’t happy with Bats v Supes and was
seriously underwhelmed by Suicide Squad. The only chink of light in BvS was Gal
Gadot’s Wonder Woman. I wasn’t entirely convinced by the first trailer, but as
WW’s opening date drew closer, I became more hopeful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And for the most part that hope was well founded. Aside from
the bookends, the film is self-contained with no references to the established
DC movie universe. Indeed, the film is probably even better if you haven’t seen
BvS.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The film is comfortable in its own skin, even if the plot
feels like a patchwork of Superman The Movie, Captain America: The First
Avenger and Thor (the London backstreet bullet-catch sequence is a replay of
Lois and Clark being mugged behind the Daily Planet sequence in Superman, for
example). The film has an honest emotional core to it, not unlike Lord of the
Rings, that lends the film gravitas and lifts it above its source material.
It’s perfectly pitched, and the tonal shifts are well executed: the comedy to
drama to tragedy absolutely works.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Indeed, it’s certainly the most romantic superhero movie
since Thor and Spider-Man II. And that’s in part due to the natural chemistry
between Gadot and Chris Pine as Captain Steve Trevor. There’s a whiff of James
T Kirk in Trevor, but Pine takes his position in the drama and rolls with it:
he’s world-weary, heroic, but flummoxed, embarrassed and by the end utterly
smitten with Diana (just like every guy in the room, then!). It has already
been noted by other observers, notably in Meg Downey's <a href="http://www.cbr.com/wonder-woman-saving-steve-trevor/" target="_blank">excellent analysis for CBR.com</a>, that he declares his love for her and that she
does not reciprocate. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I like that the film allows Trevor to maintain the
gentlemanly code of conduct that’s correct for the period, which then paves the
way for a delicate moment of power play: post-dance, Trevor escorts Diana to
her room and moves to exit and close the door, not assuming he has the right to
stay; with a subtle bow and turn of the head, Diana’s stare pierces him and
invites him to stay. Like Michael Biehn’s Corporal Hicks in Aliens with Ripley,
Trevor respects Diana from the off and swiftly accepts her power and her right
to be the dominant force. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It would be fair to say that the challenge her empowerment
provides to the film’s patriarchy emboldens the majority of men to be better,
to think with their brains and hearts rather than with their cocks and anger – for
the most part, Diana doesn’t emasculate the men around her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With her part in ensuring the end of WWI a secret, there’s
no chance for her efforts to galvanise the gender war. (Note: the script never
refers to ‘goddesses’, just ‘gods’.) Indeed, the film rather raises the
question of what Diana did for the 100 years or so between the Great War and
BvS? Perhaps Justice League may offer us a clue when it opens in November.<o:p></o:p></div>
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While the film is effectively a star-making vehicle for Gal
Gadot (it’ll be intriguing to see how her career develops: what roles will she
be offered?), I’m not convinced she completely believed in some of her character’s
‘hero’ moments or maybe those set pieces were early in the shoot and she wasn’t
fully confident in herself and the material.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That said, Diana’s almost graceful journey from ingénue to
hero to wrathful and judging god to benevolent idol demands much and Gadot
rises to the challenge. The film’s set piece in No Man’s Land, in which Diana
draws the attention and the heavy fire of the German frontline, brings a lump
to the throat, aided by Rupert Gregson-Williams’ stirring score.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The film’s and Diana’s gaze falls witheringly on man’s
inhumanity to his fellow man and woman, specifically through war. The film is
stridently anti-war and much is made of Diana’s compassion; there’s even time
for a needs of the few versus the needs of the many debate before the No Man’s
Land sequence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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There’s some giddy, Liberal wish-fulfilment in the finale
that is counterpointed by our foreknowledge of the events to come in the
ensuing 100 years and thus hints at the moral complexities and failings of
mankind Diana will have to learn: she ends Ares but not jealousy, hatred and
war.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The film has issues, of course. The finale launches the film
backwards into a pitch-black Zack Snyder-style CGI-fest with maximum
destruction for our viewing pleasure… This is a shame given how progressive the
film is up to that point.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And briefly touching on technical points, the fight styles
and effects in the DC movies so far are not a patch on Marvel’s work.
Similarly, Marvel’s choice of cinematographers is a notch (or more) above DC’s.
Those trends continue with Wonder Woman.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s an element of tokenism to Trevor’s Scooby Gang: are
they there simply to highlight to Diana man’s inhumanity to man and woman
alike? Upon reflection and further viewings, Ewen Bremner’s PTSD-sufferer
probably gets the best of the bad hands dealt here.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The bad guys are just too typically lazily drawn and there’s
no getting away from the fact that great performers like Danny Huston and Elena
Anaya are wasted here. Similarly, there’s little for Connie Nielsen and Robin
Wright to do as Diana’s mother and aunt respectively.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And as intelligent as some of the material and the approach
to it is, WW does not confront and debate the gender war with the same depth
and analysis as Marvel’s/Netflix’s Jessica Jones (perhaps because, in pure narrative
terms, Diana is at war with war whereas JJ is at war with the patriarchy).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Those caveats aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the film. It sets
a high bar for the Captain Marvel movie (and the Black Widow solo outing should
it ever emerge) and should comfortably pull in more than $600m worldwide –
frankly it should do $700m-plus but that hinges on how good its domestic legs
are and how the rest of the world takes to a character it barely knows.<br />
<br />
Wonder Woman is a standard around which those who rightly demand
Hollywood should produce more diverse output from more diverse creatives must
rally (and in significant number). Nevertheless, the film represents victory in
just one battle of a much longer and larger campaign.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-84660446203147482382017-03-19T11:45:00.001+00:002017-03-22T14:04:43.218+00:00Logan: finally The Wolverine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgM49ZteQb-WWRxtnYhq86ktYWglEJyWJiw0ztNyUqmhSRNzN4SQ66XwcPQ9TAJ1D-sGT0vF5COdsXjIaBE8syCZfGd1veQMeyBgoNLvtLN4CuoOu_Y2HqkcIc218di4UuK-B0EwpGdIv5/s1600/Logan_2017_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgM49ZteQb-WWRxtnYhq86ktYWglEJyWJiw0ztNyUqmhSRNzN4SQ66XwcPQ9TAJ1D-sGT0vF5COdsXjIaBE8syCZfGd1veQMeyBgoNLvtLN4CuoOu_Y2HqkcIc218di4UuK-B0EwpGdIv5/s320/Logan_2017_poster.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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I’ve waited until my second viewing of <a href="http://www.foxmovies.com/movies/logan" target="_blank">Logan</a> before sharing
my thoughts. Indeed, it’s taken a second viewing to ‘process’ the film.
Be warned: there be spoilers here.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Let’s start with that <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Div0iP65aZo" target="_blank">trailer</a>: its tone hints at what’s to
come in the film, but it in no way prepares the viewer for its bleak, solemn and
brutal approach. The trailer, backed of course with Johnny Cash’s cover of
Hurt, suggests heroic redemption, Gladiator-style.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And while DoP John Mathieson, who shot Gladiator, brings an
epic visual scope to Logan, there is little else about this film that matches
Gladiator’s arc.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Logan is clearly closest in spirit to Clint’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unforgiven" target="_blank">Unforgiven</a>,
but even that had humour and crowd-pleasing moments. It shares the
Oscar-winning Western’s set-up and themes, but in the hands of director James Mangold and star Hugh Jackman, Logan mines those with greater
and discomforting intensity. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Logan is not a super hero movie – yes, there are
super-powered characters, fights and some effects – rather this is a story of
two old men, both of whom have had enough of life, facing up to the choices
they have made and the choices that have been forced upon them. Live by the claw, die by the claw.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Key to the film’s success is this set-up: while both Logan
and Xavier are powerful mutants, their abilities are curbed by old age. The
idea of Xavier suffering from a degenerative neurological disorder and having
to take medication that dulls his brain further is upsetting. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Logan appears to begrudge his role of Xavier’s provider and
carer; indeed there’s an edge of care home abuse in his treatment of the
Professor. Once we work out what happened to all the mutants, we realise that,
in his grief, Logan is imprisoning and punishing Xavier.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Logan, clearly being poisoned by the adamantium grafted to
his skeleton, finds his only escape from the pain and the tedium of caring for
Xavier in beer and bourbon. With his healing power failing him, more recent
scars stand proud upon his body – no chance of leaving behind a beautiful
corpse – and he walks with a pronounced limp.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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He even seems to be suffering from erectile dysfunction of
his claws: they don’t pop as quickly and as far as they used to.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nevertheless, when he does pop those claws, boy does he… The
first fight against some would-be car-jackers is shocking. Logan wearily asks
them to back away, but then the shots start and before you know it, Logan’s
limo has got marks on it – and that drives this tired, old white man over the
edge. The ensuing fight sees him kill most of the hoodlums with crunching,
graphic claw attacks – more often than not he goes for the kill-strike
immediately (up through the chin, from the base of the back of the skull, etc),
not because they’re the most expedient, but because he gets the most satisfaction
that way, it’s the only way to sate the anger and blood lust.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As the story progresses, Logan gets ever more violent and ever-more
dehumanized by his own actions. His violence stands on the same ground as sex
in Cronenberg movies: it’s a headlong dive into self-loathing, and, like a
junkie, he just can’t give up.<o:p></o:p></div>
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By the time we reach the final battle, Logan is running on
little more than pure, animalistic rage: at this point he is The Wolverine. And
this is uncomfortable to watch, as Jackman utters guttural animal noises – he’s
no longer human.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There’s so much violence and it’s so graphic that the viewer
is left bloodied and broken like Logan’s enemies, unwillingly complicit in the
dearth (and indeed death) of humanity in a beloved screen hero.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Wolverine, hero no more: that could have been the film’s
alternative title. There’s nothing heroic here, what redemption there is for Logan
is depressingly fleeting.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Compare the fall of Maximus in Gladiator with the falls of
either Xavier or Logan: Russell Crowe’s Caesar-killer is accorded a hero’s
death, full of pomp and ceremony, while the dispatch of and burial of Xavier is
exceptionally tough on the character, his legacy and the audience.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Logan can only articulate his sense of loss through rage and
violence, unable even to summon any appropriate eulogy. His reaction in the
immediate aftermath is momentarily amusing for UK audiences as it recalls Basil
Fawlty attacking his car; however, the humour rapidly dissipates as he
continues to attack the car before collapsing to the ground – it’s agonising to
watch.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When he falls at the hands of his clone (echoing Superman
III’s ego and id battle), Logan is at least accorded that fleeting redemption,
a second of happiness in a lifetime of abuse, misery and shattered dreams.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The film completes its echoes of Unforgiven by affording
Logan a fiery and naïve protégé, X23/Laura (Dafne Keen gives as strong and
committed a performance as Jackman here). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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It’s worth noting how Logan toys with Unforgiven’s meta
aspect – the ‘man of letters and such’, mythologising the Wild West with the
tales of the ‘Duck of Death’ who bears witness to William Munny’s own myth. When Logan finds the X-Men comics in X23’s possession, the
myths of which she clings to, he flicks through the pages and decries the
stories: ‘maybe a quarter of it happened and not like this; you don’t just pull
on some spandex and save the day’.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Some writers have suggested that the primary colour visions
in the comic panels <a href="http://screenrant.com/logan-wolverine-x-men-comics-eden-explained/" target="_blank">rekindle the long-dead hero in Logan</a>, but I’m not sure I
agree. He’s not one to believe his own press. <o:p></o:p></div>
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However, it is worth noting that in the glimpses of the
comics we get, the character who calls for Logan’s help is his original
X-daughter, Rogue. Given that the comic revelation comes just after Logan has
discovered the truth about X23’s ancestry, this is the turning point in his
attitude towards her: if not her hero, he must become her father.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But the sins of the father have been passed on undiluted to
this child: seeing her tear men apart makes for even more uncomfortable viewing
than Wolverine’s berserker rage, her feral quality a result of years of abuse
and captivity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Logan’s final fatherly advice hints at despair and a mission
impossible: “Don’t become what they made you.”<br />
<br />
Using Shane’s departing speech as a eulogy, X23/Laura then
completes Logan’s burial, fittingly and tellingly flipping the angle of the makeshift
cross on Logan’s grave so that it forms an ‘x’. Weapon X is dead, long live
Weapon X.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-47232250567327814742017-01-04T18:40:00.000+00:002017-01-05T11:36:04.133+00:002016 box office review: of superheroes and animals<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy-aRMtgQWWb3BSNx0rcbQpGoQGNWES1Bxn_EQ02NTd7h8HkjsimQh8agW4O6gMDEm_ybqV6FzeIj2HBaQHHvNloR0S6q-r1wSqrDmsTu9t4JBdPjSrhnR4EVgKsNCSMffSnr6SL2obB4M/s1600/1462309013449.cached.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy-aRMtgQWWb3BSNx0rcbQpGoQGNWES1Bxn_EQ02NTd7h8HkjsimQh8agW4O6gMDEm_ybqV6FzeIj2HBaQHHvNloR0S6q-r1wSqrDmsTu9t4JBdPjSrhnR4EVgKsNCSMffSnr6SL2obB4M/s320/1462309013449.cached.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
2016 was the year when animals and superheroes ruled cinemas
worldwide: if you didn’t focus on those two archetypes, then your film had a
limited box office scope.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The top 20 films worldwide feature six superhero movies and
six films focusing on anthropomorphised animals. Leading the pack was Captain
America: Civil War with more than $1.1bn (some $250m less than Age of Ultron
but some $440m more than the previous instalment of Cap); it placed seventh in
the UK, first internationally, third in the US and fourth in China.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Second, third and fourth were another trio of Disney hits:
Finding Dory and Zootopia just clipping passed $1bn, with the live action
Jungle Book falling just shy of that marker. Dory wasn’t as well reviewed as
Nemo and its performance was hampered somewhat as it was the fourth and last of
the major animal movies (preceded not only by Zootopia and Jungle Book but also
The Secret Life of Pets) and did not perform well in China (perhaps because
Finding Nemo was never released there), leading to an international take lower
than its predecessor of 2003. Nevertheless, Dory was fifth in the UK, seventh
internationally, and top in the US.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zootopia was the second-most successful film
internationally, aided by a second place finish in China with $235.6m. It was
also the most successful film based on an original script. In the UK, it could
only place 13<sup>th</sup> with £24m, nearly £12m short of Pets, £19m short of
Dory and £22m short of Jungle Book.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jungle Book was surprisingly well-reviewed, showed good legs
and pocketed nearly $967m worldwide, including £46m-plus in the UK (good for
fourth place), more than $600m internationally (third place), and $150m in
China.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fifth largest film of the year is the first non-Disney
film: The Secret Life of Pets got close to $900m, making nearly £36m in the UK
(ninth place), and more than $500m internationally (also eighth). It placed
fourth in the US, just beating Jungle Book.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<b>Supers v supers</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTJEdNoHSZmejJ4hDOqwZdzspNi20PxFKXAD5IW6JS3ufXtOZwhIOvZy79vwDGiHOH78m5eKzI-WQPYpOdS8e5nAxc13829_Fii8ieo8OBQg1XeMPTDhBsUO02VKXj_bEwVSx-Mqy25z4/s1600/deadpool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfTJEdNoHSZmejJ4hDOqwZdzspNi20PxFKXAD5IW6JS3ufXtOZwhIOvZy79vwDGiHOH78m5eKzI-WQPYpOdS8e5nAxc13829_Fii8ieo8OBQg1XeMPTDhBsUO02VKXj_bEwVSx-Mqy25z4/s320/deadpool.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Four of the next seven places are taken by superheroes,
namely Bats v Supes, Deadpool (arguably the shock over-performer of 2016), Suicide
Squad and Doctor Strange. While both DC entries were poorly received by the
fanbase they were aimed at, they both finished clear of $300m and £30m in the
US and UK respectively. Of the DC films, only Bats v Supes was released in the
China, falling just shy of $100m. Deadpool came seemingly from nowhere to
deliver his own Valentines’ Day massacre: counter-programming didn’t succeed
quite as well as this in the rest of 2016 and Mr Pool was the most successful
rom-com of the year. He was the most successful superhero in the UK (just
beating Civil War) and doubled the take of his cohorts in the X-Men. In the US,
the only superhero movie to beat him was Civil War. Mr Pool was also the most
successful superhero movie in France, Germany, Australia and Russia. A crisp high
five then to all those involved with Mr Pool! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dr Strange opened well and showed good legs everywhere to
finish 12th.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The worldwide top 10 also features Rogue One, which in the
final fortnight of the year hauled in nearly $800m. Its performance so far is
weighted towards the US, but<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it didn’t
open in all major international territories before the end of the year. It
gatecrashed the party in the UK, just scraping ahead of Fantastic Beasts in the
final days of the year to top the chart. It should finish on $1bn or more worldwide
(depending on its legs internationally). Of course, 2016 was bookended by Star
Wars, with The Force Awakens dominating the start of the year. It took a
further $732.5m in the first few months of the year (including $125m in China and
£35.9m in the UK) on top of its $1.3bn in 2015.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also making the top 10 was another franchise spin-off (which
launches a new franchise), namely Fantastic Beasts. If not quite in the HP and
the Deathly Hallows Part 2 league ($1.3bn), it’s got a shot at passing the
$800m mark.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Huge Chinese hit The Mermaid generated 95% of its $553.8m worldwide
take from China.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The X-Men suffered their own Apocalypse, coming in 27% down
on their Future Past adventure. Kung Fu Panda suffered similarly, down 22% on
its predecessor, with its largest territory being China.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
More than half’s Warcraft’s worldwide take came from China,
placing it 16<sup>th</sup> overall.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
More adult fare, Jason Bourne and The Revenant, finished in
a tight pack with the fifth (and presumably final given its take was 53% lower
than its immediate ancestor) Ice Age movie. It's worth noting that just two movies in the top 20 were star-driven: Bourne and Revenant.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Enter the flops</b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5u7ChPoVS1Rf0slw1PrTyvbcRBrP9x82VZ5DxPP7PlZ2U8jaNAyyWbVPGd-t14PWB9Olft_q2tPVlRx0sUHrewpd8rlPvUUq0FsaW8taa5aiuXVgXGueXiI611ehq5B7N8TOa_MYMkrlU/s1600/ID4RHEADER-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5u7ChPoVS1Rf0slw1PrTyvbcRBrP9x82VZ5DxPP7PlZ2U8jaNAyyWbVPGd-t14PWB9Olft_q2tPVlRx0sUHrewpd8rlPvUUq0FsaW8taa5aiuXVgXGueXiI611ehq5B7N8TOa_MYMkrlU/s320/ID4RHEADER-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Independence Day sequel got bumped from the top 20 list
in the final days of the year, overtaken by Moana (which had not opened in all
major territories before the end of the year). ID2’s near-$390m take came off a
production budget of $165m. Its predecessor took more than $800m 20 years ago;
if you inflation-adjust that figure and note that there was no Chinese market
then, it would appear about that only a quarter of the number of people that saw
the original saw the sequel.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2016 was a crowded year and it’s no surprise that other
films failed to find a large audience. Notably missing from the worldwide top
20 are such heavily marketed films as Star Trek Beyond (it fell more than 25%
short of Into Darkness), Ghostbusters (it failed to cross the $300m barrier on
a production cost of $144m), The Huntsman: Winter’s War (Chris Hemsworth,
Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain wasted in a $115m production
that pulled in nearly $165m, less than half of its predecessor’s haul) and
Alice Through The Looking Glass (it fell just shy of the $300m barrier, but
finished with a take 70% lower than the original’s take). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The third Divergent instalment, Allegiant, brought in less
than $180m, which compares poorly with the near $300m totals of the first two
parts. It emerged all-too swiftly that the fourth and final part would screen
as a TV series. Whether this kills off the YA fantasy/sci fi adaptations
remains to be seen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Particularly dishonourable mentions should also go to Inferno,
which finished with less than a third of the Da Vinci Code’s final result, and
Ben-Hur. The latter epic cost $100m and generated just $94.1m worldwide. For
reference, the inflation-adjusted US box office only figure for the Charlton
Heston variant is $843.8m!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>The British bit</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the UK, Bridget Jones’s Baby played like a traditional
British movie: number three at home with £48.1m, but with only low-level
success elsewhere. Nearly one-third of Bridget’s overall box office came from
the UK.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Other notable over-performers in the UK include The BFG,
which crossed the £30m barrier (that figure accounts for about a fifth of its
overall total), and The Girl On The Train, which crossed the £20m barrier<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(the UK was pretty much the only territory
where it performed like the film its marketing and release pattern aped, Gone
Girl).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Revenant also crossed the £20m barrier, which just goes
to show how much a brilliant trailer can impact a film’s performance: it was
all about that bear attack.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2017 offers a similar number of superhero movies (including
the first female-led example, courtesy of Wonder Woman), remakes (Tom Cruise’s
The Mummy), and sequels (Wolverine 3, Guardians 2, Kingsman 2, Alien Covenant, Despicable
Me 3, Cars 3, Thor 3, Paddington 2, Blade Runner 2049, and Pitch Perfect 3).
There’s also the small matter of Star Wars 8: will records be broken again? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Worldwide (1 January 2016 to 1 January 2017)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Civil War $1,153.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finding Dory $1,027.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zootopia $1,023.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Jungle Book $966.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Secret Life Of Pets $875.4m <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Batman v Superman $873.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rogue One $786m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Deadpool<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$783.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fantastic Beasts $775.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Suicide Squad $745.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Star Wars 7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$732.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dr Strange $657.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Mermaid<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$553.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
X-Men: Apocalypse $543.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kung Fu Panda 3 $521.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Warcraft $433.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jason Bourne $415.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Revenant<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$409.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ice Age 5 $407.7m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Moana $399.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>UK (1 January 2016 to 1 January 2017)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rogue One £52.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fantastic Beasts £51m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bridget Jones’s Baby £48.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Jungle Book £46.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finding Dory £42.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Deadpool<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>£37.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Civil War £36.9m <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Batman v Superman £36.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Secret Life Of Pets £36.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Star Wars 7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>£35.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Suicide Squad £33.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The BFG £30.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zootropolis £24m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Girl On The Train £23.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trolls £23.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jason Bourne £23.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Revenant<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>£23.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dr Strange £23.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
X-Men: Apocalypse £18.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Road Chip<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>£16.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>International (1 January 2016 to 1 January 2017)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Civil War $745.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zootopia $682.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Jungle Book $602.5m <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fantastic Beasts $551.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Mermaid<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$550.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Batman v Superman $542.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finding Dory $541.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Secret Life Of Pets $507.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Star Wars 7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$449.3m <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dr Strange $427.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Suicide Squad $420.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Deadpool<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$420m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
X-Men: Apocalypse $388.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Warcraft $386.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kung Fu Panda $377.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rogue One $361m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ice Age 5 $343.7m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Revenant<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$331.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Independence Day $286.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now You See Me 2 $269.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jason Bourne $253.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>US (1 January 2016 to 1 January 2017)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finding Dory $486.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Rogue One $425m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Civil War $408.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Secret Life Of Pets $368.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Jungle Book $364m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Deadpool<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$363.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zootopia $341.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Batman v Superman $330.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Suicide Squad $325.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Star Wars 7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$283.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dr Strange $230.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fantastic Beasts $224.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Moana $210m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Revenant<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$181.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sing $166.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jason Bourne $162.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Star Trek Beyond $158.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
X-Men: Apocalypse $155.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Trolls $150.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kung Fu Panda 3 $143.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>China (international releases only in 2016)</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Mermaid $526.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Zootopia $235.6m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Warcraft $220.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Civil War $190.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kung Fu Panda $154.3m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Jungle Book $150.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Great Wall $148.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Star Wars 7<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$125.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
X-Men: Apocalypse $120.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dr Strange $109.2m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now You See Me 2 $97.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Batman v Superman $95.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fantastic Beasts $85m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Angry Birds Movie $75.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Independence Day $75.4m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Jason Bourne $66.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Ice Age 5 $66.5m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Star Trek Beyond $65.1m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
TMNT 2 $58.9m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Alice Through The Looking Glass $58.8m<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Data sourced from <a href="http://boxofficemojo.com/">Boxofficemojo.com</a> and <a href="http://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/film-industry-statistics-research/weekend-box-office-figures" target="_blank">the BFI</a></i><o:p></o:p></div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-9599612261484823842016-12-27T20:06:00.002+00:002017-01-04T18:44:45.324+00:00Golden Stans 2016<div class="MsoNormal">
I saw 93 films in 2016 overall, but removing repeat screenings
and rewatching classics, there are 75 films left pitching for the Golden Stans.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Ix5zWK3KnBTdZ9e_Z6FMP76nKoQGVZhaNP1yK4QySZuYlkufKQFJBoJ8pFGnY1CdCoR5Ylm2OG_UzcxTueBEa1o55y3eA3wcdJvd_h95pH50KWLwaP6qTBWaAxGLh13c9rhVUFkL5iKm/s1600/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice-movie-4-1920x1080-1458348338704_large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2Ix5zWK3KnBTdZ9e_Z6FMP76nKoQGVZhaNP1yK4QySZuYlkufKQFJBoJ8pFGnY1CdCoR5Ylm2OG_UzcxTueBEa1o55y3eA3wcdJvd_h95pH50KWLwaP6qTBWaAxGLh13c9rhVUFkL5iKm/s320/batman-v-superman-dawn-of-justice-movie-4-1920x1080-1458348338704_large.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is traditional for me to open with awarding the <b>Cone of
Shame</b> to the worst movie of the year. While I managed to avoid dogs this year,
Batman V Superman was a mess, but rather than give the award to the film, it
goes to DC director Zack Snyder on behalf of the DC and Warners management for
overseeing the unholy mess. Surely someone in the hierarchy realised that
trying to combine elements of The Dark Knight Returns and the Death of
Superman, plus the introduction of Woman Woman and a new Lex Luthor, and lay
the foundations for the birth of the JLA would be too much for one film?
Oppressively dark and oppressively shot, BvS shortchanged movie fans
everywhere, whether they were comic geeks or not.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Moving on to the good stuff, many films had fantastic
soundtracks this year, in particular:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Brimstone - Junkie XL</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Hell Or High Water - Nick Cave & Warren
Ellis</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The Childhood Of A Leader - Scott Walker</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The Ghoul - Waen Shepherd</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l2 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In each case, the scores added to the overall experience of
the film, however the winner of the Golden Stan for <b>Best Score</b> goes to Scott
Walker. I’m prepared to admit that the score may have too much of its own
personality, that it’s too prominent, that just maybe the images are just there
to support the music, but it absolutely blew me away.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Just as many films ‘sounded’ great in 2016, so as many again
‘looked’ fantastic; indeed, cinematography this year was not only of high
quality but also prominent in quantity. The not-very-short shortlist looks like
this:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The Revenant - Emmanuel Lubezki</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Son of Saul - Matyas Erdely</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The Childhood Of A Leader - Lol Crawley</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Hell Or High Water - Giles Nuttgens</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Nocturnal Animals - Seamus McGarvey</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Manchester By The Sea - Jody Lee Lipes</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">La La Land - Linus Sandgren</span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Brimstone - Rogier Stoffers</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l6 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Brimstone, to my eyes, looks better than Hateful Eight,
while Hell Or High Water had a bleached, barren quality befitting the film’
locations. Sandgren is a key part in La La Land’s immense success (not least
that opening shot), while Seamus McGarvey seems to delight in the stylistic
challenges thrown at him by Tom Ford. Lipes achieved a level of intimacy yet
with objectivity on Manchester, while Crawley’s work on Childhood was all about
objectivity, inviting you to gaze in horror. Erdely’s and Lubezki’s work helped
to create the intensely immersive Saul and Revenant.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No doubt each of the nominees faced their own challenges,
but there’s no getting away from the enormous obstacles that Lubezki faced, so
he gets the gong for <b>Best Cinematography</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Golden Stan for <b>Best Adapted Screenplay</b> can only go to
one script, and that script is The Big Short by Charles Randolph and
(crucially) Adam McKay. They made the unfilmable massively enjoyable without
losing the detail and context that gives the film its meaning.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The shortlist for the Golden Stan for <b>Original Screenplay</b>
is:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester By The Sea</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Alice Low for </span>Revenge</li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Taylor Sheridan for Hell Or High Water</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l7 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Each of these writers have distinctive voices and clear,
particular concerns. Sheridan followed up Sicario with another modern Western,
positively reeking of the here and now and the great unwashed who put Trump
into power. The success of Low’s pregnant serial killer movie springs from her
elegant script, where text and subtext seem to swap places from scene-to-scene.
While Lonergan has been a little dismissive of praise for Manchester (“if it
had been released in the 70s, you’d just say that it was good”), his script and
plotting is the initial foundation stone of the film’s emotional impact. For
making the unwatchable so compelling, the award goes to Lonergan.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And now on to the acting awards. First up is <b>Supporting
Actress</b>; here’s the shortlist:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Kate Dickie for The Witch</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Julianne Moore for Maggie’s Plan</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Hayley Squires for I, Daniel Blake</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Adriana Ugarte for Julieta</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Alicia Vikander for The Danish Girl</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Michelle Williams for Manchester By The Sea</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l3 level1 lfo4; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Kate Dickie is arguably cast a little too with type in The
Witch as the frustrated and troubled wife and mother, but is utterly
convincing. Hayley Squires is similarly convincing in Daniel Blake. Adriana
Ugarte is a Spanish star of the future if she can maintain the form she
showcases in Julieta. Alicia Vikander finally arrived as far as I’m concerned
with her best performance to date, stealing the movie from Eddie Redmayne.
Julianne Moore’s performance teetered on the edge of farce but the truth was
always there in her eyes. While I note her lack of screen time in Manchester,
Michelle Williams gets the Golden Stan (her first win after this her third
nomination) for her part in delivering one of the most powerful scenes ever
committed to film. I’m steeling myself in preparation for seeing that scene
again when Manchester goes on general release.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Next, it’s <b>Supporting Actor</b>. Here’s the shortlist:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Steve Carrell for The Big Short</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Willem Dafoe for Dog Eat Dog</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Lucas Hedges for Manchester By The Sea</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Ralph Ineson for The Witch</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Bill Nighy for Their Finest</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Great roles for men were in short supply in 2016. Lucas
Hedges is adept at the trauma and the unforced comedy at play in Manchester and
helps ensure the unwatchable is entirely watchable. Ralph Ineson is just as
compelling as Kate Dickie in The Witch, while Dafoe and Nighy deploy their
comedy chops with elan. However, the Golden Stan goes to Steve Carrell, the
emotional and moral anchor at the heart of The Big Short.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In serendipitous juxtaposition, the leading roles for women
were many and varied (at least to my eyes!): my initial longlist for <b>Best
Actress</b> ran to 17 names with two featuring for multiple performances. In the
end, this is the not-so-shortlist:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Amy Adams for Nocturnal Animals, and Arrival</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Kate Beckinsale for Love & Friendship</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Paula Beer for Frantz</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Berenice Bejo for Childhood of a Leader, and After
Love</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Dakota Fanning for Brimstone</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Rebecca Hall for Christine</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Isabelle Huppert for Elle</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Noa Kooler for Through The Wall</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Brie Larson for Room</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Alice Low for </span>Revenge</li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Emma Stone for La La Land</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Emma Suarez for Julieta</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l5 level1 lfo6; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Picking a winner from these performers is tough. Kate Beckinsale
delivered a timely reminder of just how good she can be when not dressed in
skintight black leather. Rebecca Hall was brave and committed with her
unflinching portrayal of the titular Christine. Amy Adams maintained her run
rate, with Arrival less challenging than her role in Nocturnal Animals but
allowing her to be the clear ‘hero’ of the narrative. Berenice Bejo offered two
visions of troubled motherhood. Paula Beer, Dakota Fanning and Brie Larson all
excelled as women overcoming conflict and oppressive challenges. Both Emma
Stone and Noa Kooler are luminous in lighter roles that nevertheless have
strong undertows of painful reality. Emma Suarez commanded the screen in
Julieta. Alice Low served her twisted humour and vision well by being her own lead.
Isabelle Huppert was mighty and brave in Elle, never just a victim.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A winner? I unapologetically give the award to Emma Stone:
it’s been a long time since a camera fell so desperately in love with an
actress.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
As already mentioned in the Supporting Actor category, great
roles for men were not overflowing, thus in contrast with the Best Actress
category, here’s a properly short shortlist for <b>Best Actor</b>:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Casey Affleck for Manchester By The Sea</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Leonardo di Caprio for The Revenant</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Dave Johns for I, Daniel Blake</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Tom Meeten for The Ghoul</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Pierre Niney for Frantz</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Guy Pearce for Brimstone</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "symbol"; text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Eddie Redmayne for The Danish Girl</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Geza Gohrig for Son of Saul</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo7; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s no doubting the commitment of the performers here.
Guy Pearce delivered one of the greatest cinema villains ever as the vengeful
preacher in Brimstone that fairly shook me to the core. The conditions di
Caprio had to work in are well-documented and no doubt helped him to deliver a
career-best performance. Tom Meeten threw himself into the maelstrom of madness
at the heart of The Ghoul. Pierre Niney was perfect for Frantz, conveying the
ever-shifting mystery and conflicted emotions that drive the film. Like his
co-star, Dave Johns was utterly believable in Daniel Blake. Eddie Redmayne was
genuinely excellent (remember, I haven’t previously rated Redmayne!) in The
Danish Girl. However, the two outstanding portrayals of 2016 came from Casey
Affleck in Manchester and Geza Rohrig for Saul. The latter had a hell of
challenge: if I recall correctly, he’s in every scene bar two, mostly with the
camera in his face or peering over his shoulder. The grace under pressure here
is impressive, especially given Saul was his debut.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, Casey Affleck takes the award for his natural, beautiful,
nuanced portrayal of a man understandably deeply affected by grief. It takes
two to tango and his part in ‘that’ scene with Michelle Williams must not be
underestimated. I suspect that Caffleck’s performance will be remembered for
decades to come.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The final acting award for <b>Best Couple </b>has two
all-too-obvious recipients: Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in La La Land. Their
chemistry fires the film up and ensures that no matter how challenging the
filming set-up, the joie de vivre is always front and centre.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Golden Stan for <b>Best Director</b> started with a longlist of
20, but I’ve managed to get down to half that for the shortlist:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Damien Chazelle for La La Land</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Brady Corbet for The Childhood Of A Leader</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Kenneth Lonergan for Manchester By The Sea</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Alice Low for </span>Revenge</li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">David Mackenzie for Hell Or High Water</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Tom McCarthy for Spotlight</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Adam McKay for The Big Short</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Laszlo Nemes for Son of Saul</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Francois Ozon for Frantz</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Ben Wheatley for Free Fire</span></li>
</ul>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo8; text-indent: -18.0pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Working backwards, Wheatley took delicious and delirious
pleasure in his 80-minute shoot-out. Ozon continued to grow up, adding some
real emotional engagement with his characters to his Hitchcockian observational
position. Nemes’s conception and delivery created a holocaust movie that moves
beyond victimhood. McKay crafted that rare thing: a funny but important movie
that should be required vieiwing for anyone over the age of 18. McCarthy made
up for playing one of the worst fictional journalists ever (in The Wire) by
directing with reserve a tale of quality journalism, somehow making the
work-aday utterly dramatic. Mackenzie’s direction of Hell Or High Water was
assured, recalling past ‘modern’ Westerns without losing the film’s currency.
Is Alice Low the next Ben Wheatley? I certainly hope so and look forward to
whatever she chooses to direct next. The final trio then: Lonergan directs his
script with great sensitivity, Corbet helms the most complete, singular and
challenging vision of the year, and Chazelle seemingly trumps Whiplash. As much
as I admire Chazelle for making me fall in love with a musical and applaud his
audacity, the Golden Stan for Best Director goes to Kenneth Lonergan for
Manchester By The Sea.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Finally then, the big one: Best Film. This isn’t a shortlist
as such, more a list of those films that enjoyed the most in 2016 in the order
that I saw them:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Room: quite how all those involved in this
managed to turn such an awful scenario into fairytale I don’t know, but I
applaud them for doing so.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The Revenant: it had many issues, but when this
was on fire, it was ON FIRE!</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The Big Short: a timely and important film,
refreshingly told.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Spotlight: unshowy depiction of the unshowy good
work journalists can do; a despairing warning to the media and its audience in
the free-to-air age…</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Captain America: Civil War: The best superhero
fight of all time. A new Spider-Man that had this fanboy at ‘hello’. Some
small, beautiful moments of character interplay. One of top 10 best superhero
movies. Quite how the Russo brothers top this, I don’t know.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Son Of Saul: immersive movie of the year? As it
should be, this was uncomfortable, challenging and bleak vieiwing, but humanity
in all its hues was evident.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Mustang: a great ensemble cast brought this tale
of burgeoning female adulthood and its conflict with religious and cultural
oppression to considerable life. A real eye-opener.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Julieta: another excellent work in the
mature-Almodovar vein.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">The Childhood Of A Leader: this knocked me
sideways, aided by that score by Scott Walker. But this is Brady Corbet’s
movie. Challenging and relevant.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Hell Or High Water: a great modern ‘American
movie’. Watch this and it’s no surprise that Trump beat Clinton.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">La La Land: I saw this on a Saturday morning
during the London Film Festival. I don’t like musicals, I don’t ‘get’ them, but
this one got me.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Frantz: in which Francois Ozeon continues to
mature, emotionally engaging with his characters. Post-Brexit, this was a
reminder of the potential horror now at the gates of every European state.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Manchester By The Sea: it’s already won four
Golden Stans… I simply can’t wait to see this for a second and third time.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Mindhorn: achingly funny British comedy that
meant my hanky was soaked with tears of laughter. Some of the best/silliest
gags I’ve ever seen.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Arrival: the thinking woman’s Interstellar
anyone?</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Elle: if Ozon was less Hitchcock than usual,
Paul Verhoeven and Isabelle Huppert went fully Hitch. In a year dominated by
the gender and diversity debate, director and star cheekily leave no convention
unchallenged, no base unloaded. Strong stuff no doubt, but it needs to be seen.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Brimstone: the gothic horror movie of 2016!
Brimstone held me in its grip for 2.5 hours even as some people were leaving
the cinema in disgust.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Prevenge: a film to watch with a crowd. Once
seen, you’ll never look at a pregnant woman the same way ever again.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Free Fire: 90 minutes long with 80 minutes of
gunplay, Wheatley’s Free Fire ripped every action movie of late a new one.
Teaches Tarantino a lesson too. Exhilarating and hilarious.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">I, Daniel Blake: austerity Britain dissected. Loach
and Laverty’s anger at the system is treated with a light touch: rather than
shout at you, the film builds your emotional connection to its very real
characters, its anger building inside you through osmosis.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">Rogue One: the best Star Wars movie yet? For
once, studio heads did the right thing: allowed all the heroes to die! I’m
looking forward to watching Rogue One and New Hope back-to-back.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
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Ultimately, two films stood head and shoulders above all
others. My emotional reaction to both was intense. In a year dominated by death
and broken dreams, it is only just that Manchester By The Sea and La La Land
share the Golden Stan for <b>Best Film</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-21201444894748458892016-10-30T15:34:00.003+00:002016-10-30T15:36:04.438+00:00Best of the London Film Festival 2016: Prevenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEMPBvrpRcRKVjFhH3mnrAGILu9maeqHGtFNUD5hXr6f2CCxHZYzLnGvzc8Xa6qBYeJeeF6g1ByGpdfdi7TuR7zfXd9e-j3o9kMRgjGcYE5nN1zStWdKTDds579tARvN82aiI_JqKNtbS/s1600/prevenge_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEMPBvrpRcRKVjFhH3mnrAGILu9maeqHGtFNUD5hXr6f2CCxHZYzLnGvzc8Xa6qBYeJeeF6g1ByGpdfdi7TuR7zfXd9e-j3o9kMRgjGcYE5nN1zStWdKTDds579tARvN82aiI_JqKNtbS/s320/prevenge_01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In which Alice Lowe comes of age and reveals herself to be a
distinctive new voice in British cinema that should be embraced and encouraged.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having apprenticed with Ben Wheatley, here Lowe writes,
stars in and for the first time directs. She is clearly from the school of
Wheatley: this is a jet black, gory revenge comedy with a shocking impetus at
its core – Lowe’s ‘heroine’ is heavily pregnant and is compelled to kill by her
unborn child. She directs with verve, aided by Ryan Eddleston’s camera
forcing its way into the action and Matteo Bini’s editing.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Revelation of the tragedy at the heart of the film is worked
seamlessly into the narrative, the visual image of that tragedy echoing and
reflecting in the story’s key metaphor.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lowe’s Ruth is perhaps not that different to her Tina in
Wheatley’s Sightseers, that same doleful expression, that same sense of
resignation, but mated to a greater fury.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Men do not fare well in Lowe’s deliciously twisted script,
and some suffer much more than others. I shan’t spoil your viewing by revealing
their humiliations, at least one of which has not been seen in such detail on
film since the days of Video Nasties. This is not a film for those with weak
stomachs: you have been warned!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Score: 8/10</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>UK release date: tbc</i><o:p></o:p></div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-21680957000034985472016-10-30T15:34:00.001+00:002016-10-30T15:34:40.039+00:00Best of the London Film Festival 2016: Prevenge<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEMPBvrpRcRKVjFhH3mnrAGILu9maeqHGtFNUD5hXr6f2CCxHZYzLnGvzc8Xa6qBYeJeeF6g1ByGpdfdi7TuR7zfXd9e-j3o9kMRgjGcYE5nN1zStWdKTDds579tARvN82aiI_JqKNtbS/s1600/prevenge_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYEMPBvrpRcRKVjFhH3mnrAGILu9maeqHGtFNUD5hXr6f2CCxHZYzLnGvzc8Xa6qBYeJeeF6g1ByGpdfdi7TuR7zfXd9e-j3o9kMRgjGcYE5nN1zStWdKTDds579tARvN82aiI_JqKNtbS/s320/prevenge_01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In which Alice Lowe comes of age and reveals herself to be a
distinctive new voice in British cinema that should be embraced and encouraged.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having apprenticed with Ben Wheatley, here Lowe writes,
stars in and for the first time directs. She is clearly from the school of
Wheatley: this is a jet black, gory revenge comedy with a shocking impetus at
its core – Lowe’s ‘heroine’ is heavily pregnant and is compelled to kill by her
unborn child. She directs with verve, aided by Ryan Eddleston’s camera
forcing its way into the action and Matteo Bini’s editing.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Revelation of the tragedy at the heart of the film is worked
seamlessly into the narrative, the visual image of that tragedy echoing and
reflecting in the story’s key metaphor.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Lowe’s Ruth is perhaps not that different to her Tina in
Wheatley’s Sightseers, that same doleful expression, that same sense of
resignation, but mated to a greater fury.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Men do not fare well in Lowe’s deliciously twisted script,
and some suffer much more than others. I shan’t spoil your viewing by revealing
their humiliations, at least one of which has not been seen in such detail on
film since the days of Video Nasties. This is not a film for those with weak
stomachs: you have been warned!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Score: 8/10<o:p></o:p></div>
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UK release date: tbc<o:p></o:p></div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-9233310049439432502016-10-22T15:09:00.002+01:002016-10-22T15:09:54.309+01:00Best of the London Film Festival 2016: Manchester By The Sea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1xscUPpV-htMYYzdGk6RecweoKHeXhbrcvWwZvNzd9ug575gVf2N__Lof3j3TQbUvv66S6VBGSibFtSuKhPkJs02fN3Gasus3gIvDGkInkBCn8BMbXtFeAxIF1XeIvl6983_HtkLliSr/s1600/Manchester_by_the_Sea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1xscUPpV-htMYYzdGk6RecweoKHeXhbrcvWwZvNzd9ug575gVf2N__Lof3j3TQbUvv66S6VBGSibFtSuKhPkJs02fN3Gasus3gIvDGkInkBCn8BMbXtFeAxIF1XeIvl6983_HtkLliSr/s320/Manchester_by_the_Sea.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
If La La Land was the best possible way to start a Saturday,
Manchester By The Sea was a surprisingly life-affirming start to a Sunday. How a two-and-a-quarter-hour movie about death and grief can
be so full of life and so damn naturally funny is hard to fathom.<div>
<br /><div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was expecting 135 minutes of tortured dissection of
emotional trauma and to an extent that’s what I got, but I got so much
more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Casey Affleck delivers not only his best performance since
Gone Baby Gone but also quite possibly his career-best. From the opening scenes,
it’s all too clear that his Lee Chandler is a broken man, carrying
insurmountable and self-destructive guilt over an unknown trauma. Required to
return to his eponymous hometown for the first time in many years due to the
death of his brother, the cause of Lee’s guilt and grief is gradually revealed
in timely flashbacks. The revelation of what happened has a half-life for Lee,
his family, the town and the audience.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where’s the humour then? In Lee’s bickering but loving relationship
with his nephew, played by an almost equally outstanding Lucas Hedges. There’s
an Odd Couple-esque chemistry to this pair, the reluctant parent and the
reluctant child on the verge of being his own man.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The script and direction by Kenneth Lonergan are outstanding
and will be rewarded with awards noms left right and centre, as will Caffleck.
Given the nature and detail of the narrative, the film could have been
unwatchably grim, but Lonergan finds a lightness of touch that allows the film
to breathe.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Also awards-worthy is Michelle Williams as Lee’s ex-wife,
mostly seen in flashback, but her key scene in the present with Caffleck is
best <a href="http://www.screendaily.com/comment/oscars-2016-lead-and-supporting-actress-whos-in-the-running/5110243.article?blocktitle=AWARDS-FEATURES&contentID=41284" target="_blank">described by Screen’s Jeremy Kay</a> as “devastating in capital letters”.
Arguably it is both the most upsetting and the most uplifting scene in this
simply outstanding film that may well find its way on to my Desert Island
Flicks list.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Score: 10/10</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>UK release date: 13 January 2017</i><o:p></o:p></div>
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Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-2613515569822401942016-10-22T15:06:00.000+01:002016-10-22T15:06:24.492+01:00Best of the London Film Festival 2016: La La Land<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtaCcpdbwsGV8RleY8AllMcajocQbfpNbKrbjex_S1KkdpkJvm2g4O0MFT9PnOgRWnP6Pe_WdhV925VsGRJf1ahzc-pR4ezw4VHLRE3MrwXVY98mClloU3i75Ax-qLyCfKa4l-L5yolc5/s1600/La_La_Land_%2528film%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBtaCcpdbwsGV8RleY8AllMcajocQbfpNbKrbjex_S1KkdpkJvm2g4O0MFT9PnOgRWnP6Pe_WdhV925VsGRJf1ahzc-pR4ezw4VHLRE3MrwXVY98mClloU3i75Ax-qLyCfKa4l-L5yolc5/s320/La_La_Land_%2528film%2529.png" width="215" /></a></div>
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This was the perfect start to a Saturday morning! Frankly,
if every morning started with La La Land, the world would be a better place.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I don’t get on with musicals, but this hooked me if not from
the opening of the first scene, then certainly the first angry exchange between
Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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There are others actors in this film, but the film really
belongs to Stone. Yes, Gosling adds singing and dancing to his brooding film
repertoire, but this is Stone’s moment. So far she’s got two Golden Globe noms,
one BAFTA and one Oscar, but this will send her into the stratosphere. Indeed
Screen US editor Jeremy Kay had this to say in his recent <a href="http://www.screendaily.com/comment/oscars-2016-lead-and-supporting-actress-whos-in-the-running/5110243.article?blocktitle=AWARDS-FEATURES&contentID=41284" target="_blank">awards season previewpiece</a>:
“<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #262626; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">This is an ‘Audrey Hepburn’ moment for Stone – just as <i>Silver Linings
Playbook</i> was for Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence – and voters will fall in
love with her as the season progresses.</span>”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And he’s damn right! In films like Zombieland, Easy A and
Birdman, the cameras fell in love with her, and while La La Land doesn’t offer
a stand-out scene like her harrowing critique of her father in Birdman, it does
allow her to be front and centre for the vast majority of the film and shows
her maturing, reeling her usual fire in a little to allow for some more depth.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Part of that is due to Damien Chazelle’s script and
direction. While nominally a boy-meets-girl love story (that absolutely works
thanks to the real spark between the two leads), the film’s real focus is on
chasing dreams and what happens when you realise them. There is a bitter
sweetness at the film’s core that lifts it above the obvious rom-com, which left
me a bit of a blubbery mess at the end. I am, if nothing else, a romantic at
heart. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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If you have an ounce of romance in you, you will fall in
love with this too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Score: 10/10</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>UK release date: 13 January 2017</i><o:p></o:p></div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-23483143016889065552016-02-25T20:10:00.000+00:002016-02-25T20:10:18.143+00:00Oscars 2016: who should win?As the Oscar countdown continues, <a href="http://www.screendaily.com/5100863.article?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter78" target="_blank">Screendaily asks: who should win?</a> Here are my answers for the big six categories, but remember this is about who <i>should</i> win from the actual nominations.<br />
<br />
<b>Best Picture</b><br />
If one can get passed Carol's omission from the shortlist (and I'm still struggling on that one), one is faced with only three genuine contenders: The Revenant, Spotlight and The Big Short. Let's dispense with the bear attack movie first: great set-pieces, yes, but ultimately a shallow piece of mumblecore shot in awful/challenging conditions; Alejandro is in danger of losing the ground he regained with Birdman - he's becoming a parody of himself again.<br />
That leaves one of the great movies about journalism and a great film about economic collapse. Spotlight's success lies in its restraint, it quietly burns with anger without ever catching melodramatic fire. There's nothing starry about Tom McCarthy's direction or the actors' performances, nothing to distract you from the stark facts it present before you.<br />
The Big Short gets in your face, screaming for attention, throwing shock after shock at you. Given the widespread impact of the US subprime crisis, it's the movie with the most reach. It's arguably the most daring of the bunch, and proves the power of intelligent comedy.<br />
Comparing the two films is difficult, they are such different beasts, but I believe The Big Short should win.<br />
<br />
<b>Best Director</b><br />
If the purpose of the Best Director Oscar is to single out the director as star, then there are just two competitors in this race: Alejandro and George Miller. Each led huge productions in challenging conditions, pushing their cast and crew to the limit. Both wanted to have their cake and eat it, but only of them did consume their concoction. Best Director because he delivered a singular vision and created a new genre is George Miller if I had my way.<br />
<br />
<b>Best Actor</b><br />
Not a great year for Best Actor. Obviously Leo has the momentum, but I really don't think that he was <i>that</i> good. But upon reviewing the rest of the field, he probably is the best of the bunch. I thought Fassbender was better as Macbeth than he was as Steve Jobs, but he was shortlisted for the latter.<br />
Eddie Redmayne was good, but wasn't the best performer in The Danish Girl.<br />
Matt Damon was hugely enjoyable, but it didn't seem like much of a stretch for him.<br />
Bryan Cranston was wonderful in Trumbo, but just maybe the film is a little too traditional.<br />
So it's Leo then.<br />
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<b>Best Actress</b><br />
There is no competition here: Charlotte Rampling should win. End of!<br />
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<b>Best Supporting Actor</b><br />
Mark Rylance has already won nine awards for his performance in Bridge of Spies, including the Bafta, and seems to be the outstanding favourite. However, I'm going to swim against the tide again and state that I don't think he was that good.<br />
It's a weak shortlist, so I'm left with Christian Bale in The Big Short, but that's a pity fuck of a win.<br />
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<b>Best Supporting Actress</b><br />
This is a fight to the death between Alicia Vikander and Rooney Mara. Vikander has been everywhere over the past 18 months, seemingly in every other movie - and until The Danish Girl I wasn't really rating her. However, I thought she came of age as an actress in the gender op drama, stealing the film from Eddie Redmayne.<br />
But the Oscar should go to Rooney Mara for her subtlety in Carol (I'll gloss over the fact that she's in the wrong category!). Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-36032536450971676372016-02-01T18:16:00.000+00:002016-02-01T18:16:41.455+00:00The Big Short or how I learned to stop worrying about the sub-prime bomb<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTW_Ryrs-DrZ6ABKYlFJ0koExFTM0emV_zZLEhTVOYclpBqhY57yM2AaMUKXutVGU4dJmG3_G8ViOHCrEaXthVS7k2IgOnKTzHrNm12aarNsEOTvngPcqIvZLYTsFBXk20cxP6lOb_Yqf8/s1600/The_Big_Short_teaser_poster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTW_Ryrs-DrZ6ABKYlFJ0koExFTM0emV_zZLEhTVOYclpBqhY57yM2AaMUKXutVGU4dJmG3_G8ViOHCrEaXthVS7k2IgOnKTzHrNm12aarNsEOTvngPcqIvZLYTsFBXk20cxP6lOb_Yqf8/s320/The_Big_Short_teaser_poster.jpg" width="205" /></a></div>
With the absence of <a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/lff-2015-top-10-memories-no1-carols.html" target="_blank">Carol</a>, the two most important films in the running for the Best Film Oscar are Spotlight and <a href="http://www.thebigshortmovie.com/" target="_blank">The Big Short</a>. Here, I'm going to look at the latter.<br />
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I enjoyed Big Short more than I was expecting. Director Adam McKay is known for making comedies, the Anchorman movies are what international audiences would recognise him for, and has not tackled a 'serious' movie like this before. But the producers chose wisely in giving him the director's chair and the chance to add his spin to Charles Randolph's screenplay. There was every chance that an investigation of the sub-prime mortgage crisis, while important, could be painfully dry, dull and difficult to comprehend… and The Big Short is none of those.</div>
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Just as Kubrick realised that the only way to approach a film about nuclear holocaust was to present it as a comedy (when we laugh, our mental guards are down and we are more receptive to difficult or challenging ideas), so McKay's secret was to film the economic breakdown as a jet-black comedy thriller. Of course, McKay doesn't stop there: [<b>SPOILERS!</b>] having Ryan Gosling's character break the fourth wall, backed by celebrity jargon busting (yeh, you had me at Margot Robbie in a bubble bath), is the icing on the cake. Indeed, McKay very nearly has his cake and eats it with gusto.</div>
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Steve Carell backs up his Foxcatcher performance with a turn that could easily have fallen into comedy OCD, but his Mark Baum has a rage that effectively acts as the audience's moral compass. Notwithstanding that his indignation may mean he's adopting the right mindset for the wrong reasons, Baum gives the audience a regular and biting reminder that while we are effectively rooting for the main characters to make their millions by betting on the US economy collapsing, those main characters are not true heroes, their victories entirely pyrrhic within a global context, and that the collapse had so many real victims. Carell's Baum is the only character that we get under the skin of.</div>
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Produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B production arm, Pitt takes the smallest and least showy of roles on offer as a former City slicker. It's not the cleanest role (as in 12 Years A Slave where he played one of only two good white men in the film), there being some unexplored moral complexity here, his reasoning for helping two greenhorn would-be City traders make their millions frustratingly obscure.</div>
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Christian Bale as the sage hedge fund manager who spots the fault-line in the US economy is a little too predictably Christian Bale, just a little too Asperger's. It might be an honest recreation of the reality, but in a challenging film that still asks something of the audience's grey matter, Bale's performance feels a little off-key.</div>
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Gosling has more dialogue than he's had of late: it's almost a surprise to hear him speak. Nevertheless, his character is largely unexplored and asks little of his talent.</div>
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<div>
The Big Short is exceptionally well edited, by Hank Corwin (he's up for both the Bafta and the Oscar), giving the film a vital spring in its step, but he can't quite overcome the minor ebbing of energy as the tone shifts from black comedy to tragedy in the final act. Aiding that springing step is Barry Ackroyd's cinematography, although it's not the best work of his career.</div>
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<div>
Music choices throughout are spot-on, particularly towards the end with the [<b>SPOILERS!</b>] Brazil-style happy ending being scored to the electric version of Neil Young's <i>Rockin' In The Free World</i>, and the credit sting getting the Led out with the all-too-appropriate <i>When The Levee Breaks</i>.</div>
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The Big Short does a have a few issues then, but they are outweighed by how entertainingly it uncovers the corruption (professional and moral) at the heart of the US economy. That the films closes with a warning for the future is the final shock and seal of this great film.</div>
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Score: 8.5/10</div>
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Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-35851333537416697552016-01-06T19:06:00.000+00:002016-01-10T10:06:45.458+00:002016 movies to look forward toWhich movies in 2016 will be worth spending your hard-earned on? Let's get away from the obvious Oscar contenders launching in January and February, and the big super hero and events pix, and stray off the beaten track a little.<br />
<br />
<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foGraEVNI0s" target="_blank">Pride + Predjudice + Zombies</a></b>: 12 February<br />
The picture on p63 of the February edition of Empire of Lena Headey as Lady Catherine de Bourgh standing triumphantly upon a pile of zombie corpses says it all. You had me at 'Lena'!<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfeiINSMU1I" target="_blank">Triple 9</a></b>: 19 February<br />
Crime thriller in which John Hillcoat directs a juicy cast: Winslet, Ejiofor, Harrelson, C Affleck, Aaron Paul, Anthony Mackie and Norman Reedus. Unlikely to have a happy ending.<br />
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<b>Hail Caesar!</b>: 26 February<br />
The new Coen brothers: 'nuff said.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4y85dmD9gs" target="_blank">Crouching Tiger sequel</a>:</b> February tbc<br />
The original remains a fantastic film, so naturally I'm curious about the sequel, which focuses on Michelle Yeoh's character. Check the reviews before buying your tickets…<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQXmlf3Sefg" target="_blank">The Witch</a></b>: 11 March<br />
2016's best horror movie? "Deeply unsettling" seems to be the most popular description from festival goers who saw it last year. This focuses on a family in 17th century New England facing the horrors of witchcraft. May be best to watch this in daylight.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zuQTmVCEn4" target="_blank">Midnight Special</a></b>: 15 April<br />
Top indie Americana director Jeff Nichols follows up Take Shelter and Mud with this 'sci-fi chase movie', which may in some way pay homage to the likes of Star Man. The cast includes Michael Shannon (of course!), Adam Driver and Kirsten Dunst.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oibkSr_p6sc" target="_blank">Green Room</a></b>: 13 May<br />
Writer/director Jeremy Saulnier follows up his acclaimed Blue Ruin with this thriller in which a punk band are holed up in a venue's 'green room', assailed by white supremacist skinheads, afar bearing witness to the skinheads' crime. Patrick Stewart leads the skinheads. Be prepared for great characters in great peril, and, yes, quite possibly some stomach-churning violence. Excellent!<br />
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<b>La La Land</b>: July tbc<br />
Damien Chazelle follows up Whiplash with a musical comedy charting the LA-set romance between Ryan Gosling's jazz pianist and Emma Stone's actress. JK Simmons co-stars.<br />
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<b>Bourne</b>: 28 July<br />
No apologies for including this event film on this list. Can Greengrass, Ackroyd and Damon pull this off? Vincent Cassel, Tommy Lee Jones and Alicia Vikander join the supporting cast. Simply, this demands to be seen.<br />
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<b>Julieta</b>: 26 August<br />
The new Almodovar.<br />
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<b>Passengers</b>: 23 December<br />
It remains to be seen whether Sony has the balls to put out a 'grown up' sic-fi movie just one week after Star Wars: Rogue One is unleashed. Morten 'Imitation Game' Tyldum directs Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt.<br />
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And films without release dates anywhere near confirmation…<br />
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<b>War On Everyone</b><br />
The latest from John Michael McDonagh sees two New Mexico-based corrupt cops out to get one over every criminal they come across.<br />
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<b>The Bad Batch</b><br />
Following up A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, Ana Lily Amirpour brings together an eclectic cast (Keanu Reeves, Jason Mamoa, Jim Carrey and Giovani Ribisi for "dystopian love story" in a Texan wasteland.<br />
<br />
<b>Free Fire</b><br />
Ben Wheatley follows up High-Rise with a 70s-set Boston crime thriller in which two gangs end up in a fight to the death in a warehouse.<br />
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<b>The Sense of An Ending</b><br />
Ritesh Batra, director of The Lunchbox, pulls together Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, Michelle Dockery and Emily Mortimer for this drama about a man given cause to reflect on his legacy.<br />
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<b>A Storm In The Stars</b><br />
Female Saudi director Haifaa Al-Mansoor directs this Mary Shelley/Frankenstein biopic of sorts. Might not hit screens until 2017.<br />
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<b>News From Planet Mars</b><br />
The latest from Dominik Moll (A Friend Like Harry, Monk, Lemming) is a black comedy in which "a recently divorced man struggles to cope with a larger-than-life family, demanding boss and occasionally psychotic colleague who decides to move in, sending his life into a further tailspin" (according to Screendaily).<br />
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<b>The Neon Demon</b><br />
The new Winidng Refn. Here's the IMDB synopsis: "When aspiring model Jesse moves to Los Angeles, her youth and vitality are devoured by a group of beauty-obsessed women who will take any means necessary to get what she has."
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<br />
<b>Little Men</b><br />
Ira Sachs follows up the beautiful Love Is Strange with this tale of two friends (presumably Greg Kinnear and Alfred Molina judging by the cast list) falling out. It debuts this month at Sundance, so a general release in 2016 is possible.<br />
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<b>Russ & Roger Go Beyond</b><br />
The UK's most versatile director, Michael Winterbottom, brings us the dramatised making of Russ Meyer's Beyond The Valley of the Dolls, with Will Ferrell as the breast-obsessed director.<br />
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<b>Elvis & Nixon</b><br />
The King (Michael Shannon) and Tricky Dicky (Kevin Spacey) meet at the White House… Yes please!Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-50895711129008340722016-01-06T12:06:00.003+00:002016-01-06T12:06:41.935+00:002015 box office review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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2015 was a year of extreme performances at the worldwide box office: five films pulled in more than $1bn, with the year bookended by two films out-performing all expectations, namely American Sniper and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.<br />
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Jurassic World was expected to be a big hit, but I'm not sure anyone expected it to be <i>that</i> big: more than $1.6bn worldwide is incredible, including $652.3m in the US and $228.7m in China. Thus, it emerged at the top of the pile, just ahead of Furious 7.<br />
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At $1.5bn, the car movie nearly doubled the take of its predecessor, and in so doing was the best performer outside the US, raking in $1.1bn, including $390.9m from China (its single largest territory). It spent four weeks at number one in the US and five weeks at the top in China.<br />
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The Avengers sequel came up significantly short of its predecessor in the US ($459m vs $623.4m), and also drifted behind in other key territories, however $240.1m from China ($86.3m for the original) helped Iron Man & Co to post a slight increase in their international haul to $946m ($896.2m for the original). What impact will this have on Captain America: Civil War and the next two Avengers films?<br />
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Minions was the fourth movie of the year to cross the $1bn barrier, with $821.3m internationally and $336m in the States. For reference, Despicable Me 2 delivered $368m in the US and $602.7m in 2013.<br />
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<b>Star performer</b><br />
With just a fortnight in play in 2015, Star Wars set about destroying box office records left, right and centre. It finished the year just $300,000 or so away from being the most successful film in the US in 2015! At the time of writing, it's just a few days away from beating Avatar's US record of $760.5m. Similarly, in the UK, it finished just a weekend's takings behind Spectre as 2015 ended, and then swiftly jumped passed the Bond film, and is set to catch and pass Skyfall's all-time record of £102.9m by 10 January.<br />
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Once the dust has settled, it will be intriguing to compare Force Awakens' international performance with the other big hits of 2015: many traditional territories it performed well in, but in some new major markets it did not succeed like its rivals (South Korea, for example, where its has taken just $22.7m against Ultron's $78.3m). Its chance of beating Avatar's worldwide record of $2.8bn seems limited; Force Awakens will need to get close to $900m in the US alone to get close plus an unexpected over-performance in China as well as long, robust legs in its current key markets of the UK, Germany and France (nearly $130m, $73.9m and $61.4m respectively).<br />
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Having closed 2015 at $1.3bn, Force Awakens enjoyed a massive New Year weekend, jumping to $1.5bn, so a $2bn-plus total is on the cards if it can pull in $200m-plus in China.<br />
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As Boxofficeguru tweeted over the Xmas break, Force Awakens has not yet been seen by as many Americans as Phantom Menace, such has been the inflation of ticket prices since 1999. Using another source, <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm" target="_blank">Boxoffice Mojo's inflation-adjusted chart</a>, Force Awakens is only the 21st most popular film of all-time in the US. Indeed, that chart puts Force Awakens at less than 50% as popular as the original Star Wars. Clearly that pattern repeats across all traditional film markets.<br />
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As the year closed, Spectre inched ahead of Inside Out to $864.1m, but with no hope of matching Skyfall's $1.1bn haul. Indeed, Spectre fell one third short of its predecessor in the US (only just edging out Ethan Hunt in M:I 5), and 15% behind in the UK (where nevertheless it was the number one film of the year, beating Jurassic World by nearly 50%). Inside Out, the best film among the major BO successes of 2015, pulled in $851.6m, including $356.5m from the US.<br />
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<b>Hunger Games goes hungry</b><br />
The fourth instalment of the Hunger Games ended up being the least successful of the franchise: it inched across $600m worldwide in late December, more than $150m behind the third film, $265m behind the second, and $90m behind the original. However, because of release patterns, it managed four weeks at number one in both the US and the UK. Given the relatively poor performances of the Divergent and Maze Runner franchises, is the YA adaptation trend now dead in the water?<br />
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Just inside the worldwide top 10 was the year's happiest film: The Martian, with $595.7m, a record for Ridley Scott. It showed tremendous legs, especially in the US where it had two separate stints of two weeks at number one. Will The Martian begat a new era of positive/happy movies?<br />
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Mr Grey took a caning from the critics and finished prematurely in the US, but that didn't stop him from relieving many women of their hard-earned money as he tied up more than $400m internationally, including nearly £35m in the UK.<br />
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American Sniper performed in almost the opposite fashion geographically to 50 Shades: opening wide in the US at the start of the year, it performed like a summer event movie and pulled in $348.8m, spending three weeks at number one; however, perhaps misunderstood internationally, it couldn't pass the $200m mark.<br />
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Disney's Cinderella, hoping to ape Maleficent's performance in 2014, didn't quite grasp the slipper, coming in at $542.7m worldwide, one third behind the Angelina Jolie-starrer. If Cinders was a disappointment, then Marvel (and ergo Disney) will have been very happy with Ant-Man's $518.6m, including $180m in the US and $105m in China.<br />
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San Andreas pulled in less than $500m, making it one of the worst performing disaster flicks for many years, presumably because it did not feature a worldwide disaster.<br />
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The top 20 is rounded out by Transylvania 2, Terminator: Genisys ($350m internationally almost saved face as the film flopped in the US), Kingsman (one of the true surprises of the year, taking nearly $300m internationally, and proving effective counter-programming to Mr Grey in the US), the final instalment of The Hobbit (its $393.3m worldwide total in 2015 came almost entirely from international holdovers and a delayed release in China), and Home.<br />
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<b>Best of British</b><br />
There were some significant variances in the UK, first and foremostly The Theory of Everything, which pulled in more than £20m as it rode the wave of excellent reviews and awards glory. Another shock performer was Legend, generating more than £18m.<br />
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Also worthy of note is that the UK top 20 is the only list below on which Mad Max: Fury Road makes an appearance. It fell just shy of the cut in the US, international and worldwide: its financial stumbling block was the fact that it failed to secure a release in China, which would surely have brought another $80m at least and spurred it on to $450m worldwide.<br />
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Among notable performers in the UK that don't make the list are Paddington taking £9.7m in addition to the £28m it took in 2014, Kingsman and Ant-Man taking more than £16m each, and Shaun The Sheep with £13.7m. The <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt;">Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel couldn't match its predecessor, its final haul reaching £15.6m, some £5m short.</span><br />
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<b>What about the flops?</b><br />
There were some major flops in 2015: most obviously Jupiter Ascending and Fantastic Four. The Wachowski brothers' latest slice of sic-fi nonsense cost nearly $180m and pulled in just $183.9m worldwide. Perhaps they should go back to lesbian noir? The failure of the FF proved even super hero movies can flop, pulling in just $168m but with a cost of $120m. Fox might have done better to hand back the rights to Marvel's first family than make the film.<br />
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Michael Mann has long since lost BO lustre, and his Blackhat cost $70m but only hacked its way to $19.5m. Lucky for star Chris Hemsworth that he has Thor, otherwise his 2015 would have been known only for flops (see the In The Heart of the Sea below!).<br />
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Also two major sequels failed to perform as expected: Ted 2 and Magic Mike XXL. The originals of each generated $549.4m and $167.2m respectively, but the sequels pulled in just $215.9m and $122.5m respectively. At least XXL cost less than $16m to make.<br />
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Failing to be the new Harry Potter, Pan generated just $126.5m, but cost $150m. Perhaps a musical version might have done better?<br />
<br />
And proving that not every theme park ride can be a hit movie, Disney's Tomorrowland generated just $209m set against a cost of $190m.<br />
<br />
The final flop of the year looked like being Ron Howard's In The Heart of the Sea, which sunk in the US one week before Star Wars was unleashed. Even the presence of Thor in the lead couldn't save it.<br />
<br />
But if Hemsworth has got the jitters, then Johnny Depp is really BO poison outside of the Pirates franchise (last seen in summer 2011). Mortdecai cost $60m and got away with just $47.3m.<br />
<br />
Oh, and the senior management of Warner Bros must be running scared: their biggest film in 2015 was San Andreas as the studio presided over Jupiter Ascending, Pan, In The Heart of the Sea, and Christmas week-opener Point Break.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>Worldwide </b><br />
Jurassic World $1,668m<br />
Furious 7 $1,515m<br />
Avengers: Age of Ultron $1,405m<br />
The Force Awakens $1,331m<br />
Minions $1,157m<br />
Spectre $864.1m<br />
Inside Out $851.6m<br />
Mission: Impossible 5 $682.3m<br />
Hunger Games 4 $631.3m<br />
The Martian $595.7m<br />
50 Shades of Grey $570.5m<br />
American Sniper $546.1m<br />
Cinderella $542.7m<br />
Ant-Man $518.6m<br />
San Andreas $473.8m<br />
Hotel Transylvania 2 $461.6m<br />
Terminator: Genisys $440.6m<br />
Kingsman $414.4m<br />
The Hobbit 3 $393.3m<br />
Home $386m<br />
<br />
<b>International </b><br />
Furious 7 $1,162m<br />
Jurassic World $1,016m<br />
Avengers: Age of Ultron $946m<br />
Minions $821.3m<br />
The Force Awakens $679.2m<br />
Spectre $667m<br />
Inside Out $495.2m<br />
Mission: Impossible 5 $487.3m<br />
50 Shades of Grey $404.3m<br />
The Martian $370.4m<br />
Hunger Games 4 $361.7m<br />
Terminator: Genisys $350.8m<br />
Cinderella $341.5m<br />
Ant-Man $338.4m<br />
The Hobbit 3 $327.2m<br />
San Andreas $318.6m<br />
Big Hero 6 $314.4m<br />
Kingsman $286.1m<br />
Hotel Transylvania 2 $294m<br />
Taken 3 $237.2m<br />
<br />
<b>UK </b><br />
Spectre £94m<br />
The Force Awakens £87.1m<br />
Jurassic World £64m<br />
Avengers: Age of Ultron £48.3m<br />
Minions £47.1m<br />
Inside Out £39.1m<br />
Furious 7 £38.4m<br />
50 Shades of Grey £34.7m<br />
Hunger Games 4 £28.1m<br />
Home £25.1m<br />
The Martian £23.5m<br />
Cinderella £21.3m<br />
Mission: Impossible 5 £21.1m<br />
The Theory of Everything £20.6m (£802,598 was taken in 2014)<br />
Big Hero 6 £20.1m<br />
Transylvania 2 £19.7m<br />
Legend £18.4m<br />
Taken 3 £17.5m<br />
Mad Max: Fury Road £17.2m<br />
Pitch Perfect 2 £17m<br />
<br />
<b>US</b><br />
Jurassic World $652.3m<br />
The Force Awakens $651.9m<br />
Avengers: Age of Ultron $459m<br />
Inside Out $356.5m<br />
Furious 7 $353m<br />
American Sniper $348.8m<br />
Minions $336m<br />
Hunger Games 4 $269.6m<br />
The Martian $225.3m<br />
Cinderella $201.1m<br />
Spectre $197.1m<br />
Mission: Impossible 5 $195m<br />
Pitch Perfect 2 $184.3m<br />
Ant-Man $180.2m<br />
Home $177.4m<br />
Hotel Transylvania 2 $168.5m<br />
50 Shades of Grey $166.2m<br />
Spongebob Out of Water $163m<br />
Straight Outta Compton $161.2m<br />
San Andreas $155.2m<br />
<br />
<b>China </b><br />
Furious 7 $390.9m<br />
Avengers: Age of Ultron $240.1m<br />
Jurassic World $228.7m<br />
Mission: Impossible 5 $136.8m<br />
The Hobbit 3 $121.7m<br />
Terminator: Genisys $112.8m<br />
Ant-Man $105.4m<br />
San Andreas $103.2m<br />
The Martian $94.9m<br />
Big Hero 6 $83.5m<br />
<br />
Sources: <a href="http://www.screendaily.com/" target="_blank">Screendaily</a>, <a href="http://www.boxofficeguru.com/" target="_blank">Box Office Guru</a>, <a href="http://www.bfi.org.uk/education-research/film-industry-statistics-research/weekend-box-office-figures" target="_blank">BFI</a>, <a href="http://www.boxofficemojo.com/" target="_blank">Box Office Mojo</a>Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-65426646630460865762016-01-04T20:41:00.000+00:002016-01-04T20:41:07.026+00:00Golden Stans 2015Forget the Golden Globes, Oscars and Baftas: all you really need in awards season is the Golden Stans. In 2015, I saw 77 films in theatrical release; allowing for repeat screenings and seeing old favourites, I saw 65 new films.<br />
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And the last film of the year that I saw was also the worst: Fantastic Four. The casting looked good on paper, and the sci-fi movie approach sounded a good way of handling yet another super hero story. However, the final product makes Green Lantern look like high art. FF is flat, devoid of tension, the actors don't get under the skins of their characters, the effects are so-so, and some of the dialogue is ham-fisted and desperately in need of a Whedon or Fisher makeover. The film should have been X-Men First Class crossed with Amadeus (Reed Richards being Mozart to Victor Von Doom's Salieri). Instead, it falls between so many stools. And in so doing, it picks up the first Golden Stan for 2015: <b>the Cone of Shame</b>.<br />
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It's traditional for me to award a gong for <b>Best Score</b>, but nothing really grabbed me this year. Junkie XL's work on Black Mass had its moments, as did Carter Burwell's on Carol. My two most vivid music memories of 2015 are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DcqnkzGEFQ" target="_blank">Coma-Doof Warrior</a> riffing like mad on his flame-throwing double-neck guitar in Mad Max:Fury Road, and the hilarious counterpoint of disco hits in The Martian.<br />
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<b>Best Cinematography</b> this year features quite a miss-mash:<br />
<ul>
<li>Roger Deakins for Sicario</li>
<li>Sturla Brandth Grovlen for Victoria</li>
<li>Edward Lachman for Carol</li>
<li>Emmanuel Lubezki for Birdman</li>
<li>Mark Lee Ping Bin for The Assassin</li>
<li>John Seale for Mad Max: Fury Road</li>
</ul>
One day Roger Deakins might do a bad job, but he didn't on Sicario: his ability to create beautiful landscape shots and get in the action with hand-helds is unparalleled. Edward Lachman's work on Carol was beautiful (although I thought there were a handful of scenes that were a little pedestrian). John Seale rose to the occasion on Mad Max (although how much of the film's look is down to George Miller and Brendan McCarthy's storyboards?). While I failed to 'get' The Assassin, there's no denying the power of Mark Lee Ping Bin's compositions. The approach to Birdman meant significant challenges for Alejandro Inarritu, his cast and Emmanuel Lubezki to overcome in order to create the trick one-shot movie, but their mission was achieved with aplomb.<div>
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However, Sturla Brandth Grovlen went one better in Sebastien Schipper's <a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/lff-2015-top-10-memories-no7-victoria.html" target="_blank">Victoria</a>, his camera filming non-stop for more than two hours as a bank heist is planned, executed and its penalty applied. This truly is immersive cinema, Grovlen and his camera always in the thick of the action. The outcome is not necessarily beautiful like Carol, but it is an heroic performance from Grovlen, and thus he gets the award.</div>
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<b>Best Adapted Screenplay</b> needs no shortlist as there was one script that stood head and shoulders over everything else: Paddington. So step forward Paul King and Hamish McColl.</div>
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<b>Best Original Screenplay</b> has just four contenders:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Benjamin August for Remember</li>
<li>Efthimis Filippou and Yorgos Lanthimos for The Lobster</li>
<li>Alejandro Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jnr and Armando Bo for Birdman</li>
<li>Pete Docter, Meg LaFauve, Josh Cooley and Ronnie Del Carmen for Inside Out</li>
</ul>
August perfectly channels the ghost of Hitchcock in Remember. Inarritu and co concocted something of a one-off that pecked at so many targets: it laid into actors, critics, managers, the Hollywood movie-making machine, etc with humorous venom, it provided psychological analysis of an actor, and gave plenty for all the cast to sink their teeth into. Filippou and Lanthimos conceived a perfectly formed alternative reality just one step removed from our own. But the award goes to Pete Docter and co for their funny and at times desperately moving insight into the human condition.</div>
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<div>
Moving on to the acting categories, first there is <b>Best Ensemble</b> and it goes to Birdman: simply everyone in it is on top form - nobody drops the ball, everyone gets their moment, and it seems like the perfect cast.</div>
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The next award, <b>Best On-screen Couple</b>, honours the ridiculously realistic <a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/lff-2015-top-10-memories-no1-carols.html" target="_blank">on-screen chemistry between Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in Carol</a>. For all its outstanding technical credits, Carol would be half the movie it is were it not for the fact that Blanchett and Mara just 'click'.</div>
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Here are the nominations for <b>Best Supporting Actor</b>:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Tom Courtenay for 45 Years</li>
<li>Idris Elba for Beats Of No Nation</li>
<li>Ed Norton for Birdman</li>
<li>Ryan Reynolds for Mississippi Grind</li>
<li>Mark Ruffalo for Foxcatcher, and Avengers: Age of Ultron</li>
<li>Benecio del Toro for Sicario</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
This was an easy list to compile. Del Toro effectively updated his character from Traffic for Sicario: he's completely crossed the line, with no qualms about the actions he chooses to take. Mark Ruffalo was compelling in his two key scenes with Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow, balancing humour and tragedy, while he was the calm centre of the Carrell/Tatum storm in Foxcatcher. Both Ryan Reynolds and Idris Elba reminded viewers that they really can act, while Ed Norton clearly relished the chance to lampoon actors with high-maintenance reputations. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
But the winner is a most deserving Tom Courtenay. His role in 45 Years is challenging: he's the unwitting villain of the piece, apparently innocently visiting horrors upon his wife, and a lot of the time he's either not in focus or not in the scene, simply heard in the background as Charlotte Rampling reacts. Courtenay's particular success here is that we're never truly sure that he is behaving innocently.</div>
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The six-strong shortlist for <b>Best Supporting Actress</b> is:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Judy Davis for The Dressmaker</li>
<li>Maria Kraakman for Schneider vs Bax</li>
<li>Sienna Miller for American Sniper, Foxcatcher, High-Rise, and Mississippi Grind</li>
<li>Emma Stone for Birdman</li>
<li>Karin Viard for 21 Nights With Pattie</li>
<li>Rachel Weisz for The Lobster, and Youth</li>
</ul>
<div>
The Dressmaker is a curious hybrid: an offbeat haute couture revenge Western set in the Australian outback. Its tonal shifts from farce to drama to tragedy and back again are at times awkward, but Judy Davis plays her role as Kate Winslet's mother (half Norman Bates's mum, half Nora Batty) with realistic gusto. Similarly, Karin Viard laps up her role as the eponymous local saucepot in 21 Nights: the overlong film drags whenever she's not in focus. Maria Kraakman stood out among an excellent ensemble cast in Dutch assassins thriller Schneider vs Bax, running the full gamut of emotions. Rachel Weisz excelled in her roles, bringing some heart to The Lobster and some-needed empathy to Youth. Sienna Miller simply disappeared into character in her supporting roles in four films: there's not necessarily a huge range here, but she is almost unrecognisable from film to film. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
However, there has to be a winner: Emma Stone. Her portrayal of a daughter knowing where her father has gone wrong was riveting and compelling. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tn48hUyFrKQ" target="_blank">scene in which she picks her father apart </a>and belittles all he's ever done in one long rant is stunning, topped off with her reaction, as her anger and distaste morph to sadness and regret as she realises what she's said, and how much pain she's just inflicted.</div>
<div>
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This is the shortlist for <b>Best Actor</b>:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Steve Carrell for Foxcatcher</li>
<li>Bradley Cooper for American Sniper</li>
<li>Bryan Cranston for Trumbo</li>
<li>Michael Fassbender for Macbeth, and Steve Jobs</li>
<li>Michael Keaton for Birdman</li>
<li>Ben Mendelsohn for Mississippi Grind</li>
<li>Roland Moller for Land Of Mine</li>
<li>Christopher Plummer for Remember</li>
<li>Ben Whishaw in Paddington</li>
</ul>
<div>
Carrell succeeded when cast viciously against type as John 'The Eagle' Du Pont: a stranger man I can't recall seeing on screen - you just don't know how he's going to react or what he's going to say from scene to scene. Bradley Cooper gave probably his best performance yet as the all-too American, all-too male American Sniper. Bryan Cranston sank his teeth into <a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/lff-2015-top-10-memories-no4-trumbo.html" target="_blank">Trumbo</a>, Dalton's <i>bon mots</i> rolling off his tongue with silken ease. Fassbender brought the blood and thunder to Macbeth, and managed to enliven an exceptionally dialogue-heavy (even for a Sorkin script) Steve Jobs. Keaton reminded us all of what a class act he can be in the right role, his Birdman performance hitting all points of the compass. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ben Mendelsohn's 'one more for the road' serial gambler and loser is one of the great American characters, his performance allowing you to sympathise, empathise and despise him. Roland Moller's yo-yoing from would-be Amon Goeth and Oskar Schindler in <a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/lff-2015-top-10-memories-no-5-land-of.html" target="_blank">Land of Mine</a> - one minute wanting to beat the teenage POWs in his charge into shape, the next wanting to care for and protect them like a doting father - is a masterclass and utterly believable. Christopher Plummer has a peach of a role in <a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/lff-2015-top-10-memories-no2-remembers.html" target="_blank">Remember</a>. As much as I enjoy the film's Hitchcockian approach, it would mean nothing without Christopher Plummer's humanity at the centre of the storm. Finally, Ben Whishaw was the cherry on the top in Paddington, adding to the film's already considerable charm. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
There has to be a winner though, and he's difficult to pick because these are all great performances, some showier than others. In the end, it's a pitched battle between Moller and Carrell, and the latter just shades it for (re)creating on screen one of the most monstrous characters ever seen.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Here's the shortlist for<b> Best Actress:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Cate Blanchett for Carol</li>
<li>Emily Blunt for Sicario</li>
<li>Sidse Babett Knudsen for The Duke Of Burgundy</li>
<li>Rooney Mara for Carol</li>
<li>Charlotte Rampling for 45 Years</li>
<li>Maggie Smith for The Lady In The Van</li>
<li>Charlize Theron for Mad Max: Fury Road</li>
<li>Lily Tomlin for Grandma</li>
<li>Naomi Watts for While We're Young</li>
<li>Kate Winslet for The Dressmaker</li>
</ul>
<div>
Followers of my Twitter feed will already be able to guess who's going to win this, but I'll run through the contenders anyway. Tomlin and Smith both hugely enjoy their turns as ill-mannered older women, still raging in their own ways against the dying of the light. Watts and most notably Winslet walk the fine line between comedy, drama and tragedy with deft assurance. Theron utterly owns Mad Max, her Furiosa clearly the protagonist of the piece and making mincemeat of Tom Hardy in the titular role. Similarly, Blunt more than holds her own against all the machismo surrounding her in Sicario, her humanity is definitely not a 'womanly weakness'.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Carol boasts two very fine lead performances, but it's Mara who just outscores Blanchett (the latter's character is just a little too close to her comfort zone), excelling in the more challenging role. The same can be said of Knudsen, who has the tougher role in The Duke Of Burgundy. To discuss her performance in greater depth is almost impossible without giving away key plot points, but whether dominating or submitting, her unease is clear and elicits great sympathy.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
However, the winner by a considerable margin is Charlotte Rampling in 45 Years. The film hinges on her performance; even when Tom Courtenay is talking, the focus is on her and her reactions. Her low-key performance is a perfect match for the film's approach. And that final reaction shot is a heart-breaker. I can envision Oscar snubbing Rampling, but Bafta should simply engrave her name on the trophy now and be done with it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
The shortlist for <b>Best Director</b> is:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Pete Docter for Inside Out</li>
<li>Clint Eastwood for American Sniper</li>
<li>Atom Egoyan for Remember</li>
<li>Todd Haynes for Carol</li>
<li>Alejandro G Inarritu for Birdman</li>
<li>Paul King for Paddington</li>
<li>George Miller for Mad Max: Fury Road</li>
<li>Ridley Scott for The Martian</li>
<li>Denis Villeneuve for Sicario</li>
<li>Martin Zanvliet for Land Of Mine</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div>
Pete Docter's run rate with Pixar is incredible: Monsters Inc, Up and now Inside Out. He's improved with each film. He got to push the envelope visually on Inside Out, but always kept a firm focus on the story and the characters.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Clint delivered his best performance behind the camera for many years: the in-country sequences are well-staged and tense, but he allows the space and time for the cumulative effect of that killing to hit the hero.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Egoyan conjured his inner Hitchcock. It may be a little slavish, but that ending packed a huge wallop.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Todd Haynes delivered on every level with Carol. It may a little too slowly paced, but that just immerses the audience all the more in the central relationship. The detail Haynes went to is also crucial to the film's success.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Inarritu seemed to shake off his own increasingly career-threatening shackles and delivered his best film to date.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Paul King, as writer and director of Paddington, is hugely responsible for the film's charm, proving that sometimes taking a risk can pay off (£37.9m taken at the UK box office, with the film still playing theatrically more than a year after it was released).</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In Mad Max, George Miller delivered the first art house action movie. Every single shot is fantastic. It will be intriguing to see what impact Miller's approach will have on other action movie directors.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Ridley Scott got his own head round staging a happy ending, but maintained his focus on 'proper' sci-fi.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Denis Villeneuve didn't put a foot wrong with Sicario, handling all the different moods with confidence.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Martin Zanvliet's winning approach to building tension in Land Of Mine is in hindsight all too obviously the only way to make the film succeed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But for giving us something we have never seen before, for not compromising in executing his vision, the award goes to George Miller. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
There isn't a shortlist as such for <b>Best Film</b>, just a list of the films I enjoyed the most in 2015 in the order in which I saw them:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Paddington: on the surface, as pleasing a family film as one could hope for; its 'inclusive' subtext is the icing on the cake. One of the few films where the peril of the hero is genuinely worrying.</li>
<li>Birdman: Inarritu and Keaton have their cake and eat it over and over again. Alejandro, more like this please!</li>
<li>Foxcatcher: its icy feel and snail-like pacing add to the creeping unease; Carrell's detached malevolence entirely unexpected.</li>
<li>American Sniper: Clint's best in years; don't be fooled by the 'American' in the title - this is a film with a universal theme.</li>
<li>The Duke Of Burgundy: hypnotic, strange, other-worldly and yet utterly grounded and believable.</li>
<li>The Avengers: Age of Ultron: not as satisfying as the original, but Whedon still found time to give his enormous cast room to breathe and maintained his tradition of killing main characters off. The Russo brothers have high boots to fill when they take on Infinity War I and II after they've completed Civil War.</li>
<li>Mad Max: Fury Road: as I've already, the world's first art house action movie. The story is nonsense, but the commitment to action via real stunts is commendable and very effective.</li>
<li>Inside Out: one of Pixar's greatest; a constant delight; possibly the most harrowing on-screen death in 2015.</li>
<li>Shaun The Sheep: Aardman doing what it does best; charm by the bucket-load. If only live action mainstream movies could be this good.</li>
<li>45 Years: towering performances from Rampling and Courtenay; the film is incredibly icy and uncomfortable, but the final scene in which we and Rampling question Courtenay's honesty is stunning.</li>
<li>Sicario: Villeneuve combined action, drama and tragedy very well - and you never knew what was coming next; all the cast are on form.</li>
<li>Trumbo: a monstrous crowd-pleaser, revealing much of Hollywood's dark history. Trumbo's takedown of the Duke might just be my scene of the year.</li>
<li>Land Of Mine: one of the tensest films I've ever seen; which of the boys will die next and when? Will Moller's Danish soldier be nasty or nice? Some will contest the validity of the ending, but I think it was absolutely necessary.</li>
<li><a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/lff-2015-top-10-memories-no3-my-nazi.html" target="_blank">My Nazi Legacy</a>: best documentary of the year. Intelligent, thought-provoking, worrying and emotional. </li>
<li>The Walk (in full IMAX presentation): there's not much going on here (the fourth wall breaking is fun initially but can get a little tiresome as the film goes on), but the walk sequences are truly vertigo-inducing. My palms were soaked in sweat at the end.</li>
<li>The Lobster: offbeat, but well-thought out parody of modern manners and romance. Funniest on-screen 'death' of the year.</li>
<li><a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/lff-2015-top-10-memories-no8-lady-in-van.html" target="_blank">The Lady In The Van</a>: I didn't expect to love this, but I did. Nothing challenging here, but it's perfectly executed.</li>
<li>Carol: beautiful and immersive; great production design, cinematography, direction, performances and 'that' chemistry. Never have I wanted a happy ending for an on-screen couple so much.</li>
<li>Desierto: lean and mean, this chase thriller through the Tex-Mex border goes for the jugular. Much of the film is just the hero and his pursuers (one man and his attack dog), but it's incredibly tense. Features 2015's most righteous killing.</li>
<li>Victoria: the pure immersion of the two-and-a-quarter-hour single take more than makes up for a largely inconsequential story; when this film flies, it's absolutely gripping.</li>
<li>Remember: pure Hitchcock complete with the 'I didn't see that coming' finale; buoyed by Plummer's performance and the strong cameos by the actors playing those on his kill list.</li>
<li>Mississippi Grind: pleasing indie Americana, with great performances at its heart. Additional benefit: it introduced me to Woodford bourbon!</li>
<li>Star Wars: The Force Awakens: JJ only went and did it! All fears of another Phantom Menace were wiped away within the first few minutes: real sets and real actors! New characters to care about! Two beautiful shots: the TIE fighters at dawn, and the X-Wing attack from the sea. Rampant heroism! Easily the third best Star Wars movie yet.</li>
</ul>
<div>
But what was my favourite film of 2015? It's a battle between Carol, My Nazi Legacy, Inside Out, Birdman and Paddington. They each have strong claims to the title. All five were absolute knock-outs, four of them delivering knock-out emotional punches. Thus, Birdman falls by the wayside. Next, despite its pro-immigration subtext and off-beat style, Paddington is just a little too light in comparison with Inside Out.</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
So, the brilliant Carol v the surprising My Nazi Legacy v the inventive Inside Out. Documentaries rarely reward repeated viewings, so that takes me to Carol against Inside Out. In so much that Inside Out has an original script, filled with brilliant ideas and thoughtful production design, with a painfully universal tale of self-discovery, it must be awarded the Golden Stan for Best Film.</div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-72894830482118188772015-12-15T11:11:00.002+00:002015-12-15T11:11:34.732+00:00How to win an acting OscarTo win an acting Oscar, Academy members need to notice you and nominate you. How do you achieve this? Easy, get a lead or preferably a supporting role in a film by Woody Allen or David O Russell!<br />
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The two combined are awards nomination-generating machines. At the Oscars, performers in Woody Allen films have been nominated 17 times, and won seven times over the past 35 years. Of late, David O Russell's triple whammy of The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle have generated 11 acting noms.<br />
<br />
Here's the Woody Allen nominations list with wins in bold:<br />
<ul>
<li>Annie Hall: Actor (Allen himself), <b>Actress (Diane Keaton)</b></li>
<li>Interiors: Actress (Geraldine Page), Supporting Actres (Maureen Stapleton)</li>
<li>Manhattan: Supporting Actress (Mariel Hemingway)</li>
<li>Hannah & Her Sisters: <b>Supporting Actor (Michael Caine)</b>, <b>Supporting Actress (Dianne Wiest)</b></li>
<li>Crimes & Misdemeanours: Supporting Actor (Martin Landau)</li>
<li>Husbands & Wives: Supporting Actress (Judy Davis)</li>
<li>Bullets Over Broadway: Supporting Actor (Chazz Palminteri), <b>Supporting Actress (Dianne Wiest)</b></li>
<li>Mighty Aphrodite: <b>Supporting Actress (Mira Sorvino)</b></li>
<li>Sweet & Lowdown: Actor (Sean Penn), Supporting Actress (Samantha Morton)</li>
<li>Vicky Cristina Barcelona: <b>Supporting Actress (Penelope Cruz)</b></li>
<li>Blue Jasmine: <b>Actress (Cate Blanchett)</b>, Supporting Actress (Sally Hawkins)</li>
</ul>
And here's the David O Russell list, again with wins in bold:<br />
<ul>
<li>The Fighter: <b>Supporting Actor (Christian Bale)</b>, <b>Supporting Actress (Melissa Leo)</b>, Supporting Actress (Amy Adams)</li>
<li>Silver Linings Playbook: Actor (Bradley Cooper), <b>Actress (Jennifer Lawrence)</b>, Supporting Actor (Robert de Niro), Supporting Actress (Jacki Weaver)</li>
<li>American Hustle: Actor (Christian Bale), Actress (Amy Adams), Supporting Actor (Bradley Cooper), Supporting Actress (Jennifer Lawrence)</li>
</ul>
Or of course you could clone Daniel Day Lewis (three wins from just five nominations), Meryl Streep (three wins from 19 nominations), or Cate Blanchett (three wins from six nominations, with a seventh nom surely to come for Carol).<br />
<br />
Or simply make sure that you're in a film produced by Harvey Weinstein and/or The Weinstein Company!Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-26404612179359973272015-12-12T14:32:00.001+00:002015-12-12T14:32:43.437+00:00When is a supporting actor not a supporting actor?Every awards season throws up surprises and snubs, and usually at least one awards body will go off piste and treat an actor's excellent performance quite differently. Simply put, when is a supporting actor not a supporting actor?<br />
<br />
Take a look at what's happened so far with the SAG and Golden Globe nominations:<br />
<ul>
<li>Rooney Mara nominated for the Best Actress Globe, but SAG have placed her in the Supporting Actress category.</li>
<li>Alicia Vikander nominated for Best Actress at the Globes, but Best Supporting Actress in the SAG</li>
<li>Christian Bale is nominated for Best Actor at the Globes, but SAG have placed him in the Supporting Actor category</li>
</ul>
<div>
There have been lots of other similar cases in movie history:</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Was Anthony Hopkins' role as Hannibal Lecter really a leading role and not a supporting one?</li>
<li>Was Alan Arkin in Argo a supporting actor or a cameo performance?</li>
<li>Surely Casey Affleck was a lead actor in the Assassination of Jesse James not a supporting actor?</li>
<li>Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love was surely a cameo not a supporting role?</li>
</ul>
Also, the 'Supporting' category is often used/abused to reward an ensemble by highlighting the performer most likely to get nominated: Ian McKellen in Lord of the Rings, for example.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The main cause of these confusions is voter apathy, certainly in the case of the Oscars. Stories are legion of Academy members asking their partners to vote for them, and of late, if you don't send screeners (DVDs) of a film to Academy members, it will not get nominated. So the herd do what they're told: Harvey Weinstein and his team push Rooney Mara for Supporting Actress, when she is clearly in a lead role, and she gets shortlisted in the 'wrong' category.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I say 'wrong' because it's clearly wrong to a film fan, but it makes good business sense for Harvey to ensure his two leading ladies are not competing against each other: surely Carol will make more money if it wins two Oscars for Blanchett and Mara in Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress categories respectively than if the two compete against each other and lose?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
How does the Academy define leading and supporting roles? Rather conveniently, it doesn't. Here's what it says: "The determination as to whether a role is a leading or supporting role shall be made individually by members of the branch at the time of balloting."<br />
<br />
Furthermore, it notes that if a performer achieves enough votes in a single category for each of more than one eligible performance, only one performance will make the cut. So no hope for Cate Blanchett in Truth then as her role in Carol will garner more votes. Ditto Michael Fassbender: his Macbeth is better than his Steve Jobs, but if Oscar is going to support one of those performances, it will be the Apple biopic.<br />
<br />
Of course none of this explains how neither SAG nor the Globes nominated the outstanding female performer of the year, namely Charlotte Rampling in 45 Years...</div>
Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-33470606580327081212015-12-07T14:39:00.002+00:002015-12-07T19:27:20.934+00:00Cinemas: should they be bars that show films?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dSwZvws6tdJMfkxmN-mEvsWrGPOmLmSpP4Fen3KnRSmSNNAA2T2IGeKxKAAfrNYwhunUNOXWAro6tlGj9Bt6GGbVfPD6s_VsK-Aze_ktoEHsjDm2gKR_5cZPttWOq4-Fm-IWgM_EJS6_/s1600/6cb38d21-6c7d-4741-bdc0-57e6a6fdf878-2060x1616.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dSwZvws6tdJMfkxmN-mEvsWrGPOmLmSpP4Fen3KnRSmSNNAA2T2IGeKxKAAfrNYwhunUNOXWAro6tlGj9Bt6GGbVfPD6s_VsK-Aze_ktoEHsjDm2gKR_5cZPttWOq4-Fm-IWgM_EJS6_/s320/6cb38d21-6c7d-4741-bdc0-57e6a6fdf878-2060x1616.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
Cinemas used to be pantheons or sacred sites when I was young. Even going to the local 'fleapit' was an experience to be enjoyed. Visits to various Leicester Square venues in the late 70s to mid 80s were huge events: Empire Strikes Back at the Odeon and Dune at the Empire still longer lovingly in my memory.<br />
<br />
That was the past; the future now looks like your average cinema will be a bar that shows films, if <a href="http://www.screendaily.com/5097702.article?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter78" target="_blank">Screendaily's report on a recent debate</a> can be relied upon. In brief, exhibitors don't want their businesses tied to the vagaries of the cyclical quality of content: their sites and staff cost money, and they can't rely on films consistently driving traffic through their doors, so they need people to visit their venues and spend <b>when not seeing</b> a film.<br />
<br />
This future trend is more prevalent among indie chains (Curzon, etc) than the mass market players (Vues, Cineworlds, etc). As a Curzon member for several years now (I've visited Curzon venues 18 times this year, including Victoria, Soho, Mayfair and Bloomsbury), I feel able to comment on this first-hand. Curzon has certainly invested in front-of-house at Soho, built the Victoria site and, depending on your viewpoint, butchered the old Renoir to create the Bloomsbury art-house multiplex (certainly the Renoir needed a decorative revamp, and while the Bloomsbury is a lovely new venue in terms of interior finish, the small auditoria and screens have not gone down well with long-time visitors that I know).<br />
<br />
Soho always benefitted from its ground floor Konditor & Cook outlet, and I have used this cafe many times over the years in preference to Costas and Prets, etc, when not seeing films on the screens below. But there's no doubt that Curzon Soho is a cinema: I mean just look at the exterior, below! Yes, there's clearly a cafe behind the glass frontage, but the films being shown are detailed on the leading edge of the awning. Sometimes the glass frontage is decorated to coincide with a film promotion.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdItFtjuZPtgdtRUX7jwdc3c6UiPji8OVvmv8Ub7_sIrAG4mb0rb6NggrAXj-NoC6lTaeCQBLSL2KDyGMQT_nw3rV_Xws8YKMsWoZorrF8I2AhU7uxnx9_6Y1wTG544GBZUzCfa-hW8_Ab/s1600/curzon-soho-cinema+-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdItFtjuZPtgdtRUX7jwdc3c6UiPji8OVvmv8Ub7_sIrAG4mb0rb6NggrAXj-NoC6lTaeCQBLSL2KDyGMQT_nw3rV_Xws8YKMsWoZorrF8I2AhU7uxnx9_6Y1wTG544GBZUzCfa-hW8_Ab/s320/curzon-soho-cinema+-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Now compare this with Curzon Victoria, below. I recognise that this site is all about what's below the visible ground floor and that there's a narrow frontage to play with, nevertheless does this shout 'I'm a cinema screening great films that you should be watching NOW'?<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHT1_0fPjwh1rY5hoMrEy2XdajMp_dm4hXbXnNPlFTREEz7TJD_uERoJvUqEgQQpHZ37CIYYLux3BTBFpfOH8J2plDQHE_eF0cjidnhktbgwYU_ukzXoKDeTFpbw3kCth2h2Mht4o_rBc4/s1600/AN42539854CurzonVictoria-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHT1_0fPjwh1rY5hoMrEy2XdajMp_dm4hXbXnNPlFTREEz7TJD_uERoJvUqEgQQpHZ37CIYYLux3BTBFpfOH8J2plDQHE_eF0cjidnhktbgwYU_ukzXoKDeTFpbw3kCth2h2Mht4o_rBc4/s320/AN42539854CurzonVictoria-10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It's certainly tasteful and on-message, but what lies behind those shimmering curtains? Could you guess correctly, if you didn't know? And once downstairs, you're greeted with tasteful furnishings again and themed cocktails and choices of gin, and half a dozen disappointingly small auditoria.<br />
<br />
It strikes me as perfect business sense that a cinema, particularly with an upscale audience, should seek to provide all that its clients need: not only the film, but also the drinks, tea and cake beforehand, the modern bistro meal, wine and cocktails after, and the DVD and book sales. But a cinema should be cinematic at heart, it should celebrate and venerate the theatrical exhibition of moving pictures, its primary focus should be the high quality presentation of film, backed up by excellent up-sell opportunities (the food and drinks, etc) - but the moment that the primary focus of the venue turns to the concerns of non-film goers is a deeply concerning tipping point.<br />
<br />
Of course, cinemas are fighting against the rising tide of quality TV, the shockingly short window between theatrical distribution and the retailing of the DVD, multimedia consumption, and quite simply the cost of cinema-going.<br />
<br />
Let me illustrate that final and important point: the disparity between current VOD prices (equivalent to the cost of a West End cinema ticket in the early 90s) and the true cost of 'going to the cinema' (for me, that's the drive to the station car park and the ensuing fee, the train travel to Victoria, followed by Tube or bus to the cinema, then the cost of the film plus any nibbles and drinks and the return travel) is so great now - that's a ten-fold increase in my case - that I have to really want to see a film and it has to be on a big screen to make the trip worthwhile. So, I can justify a full IMAX presentation of a well-made blockbuster at the IMAX, but documentaries and small-scale dramas are best viewed at home for one-tenth of the price, I'm afraid.<br />
<br />
Not every cinema can be a votive temple to film, but every cinema should strive to be this first and foremost.Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-73932944649938656842015-11-24T14:02:00.002+00:002015-11-24T14:02:41.376+00:00Awards season is underway<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqDVWi7xp5GS5E-EhCfCBDie8mb7F29kVrMdhPUxGa2_3iAEvMijUqiuWvaZcsQuNffK3U-QShyfDGQlI1vOINU_PqbtQxhDwa1q8Hi2kWQm4RPNoy0GcN-6OYqRZE0SGoVVS8HjHFqbl/s1600/IMG_3878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNqDVWi7xp5GS5E-EhCfCBDie8mb7F29kVrMdhPUxGa2_3iAEvMijUqiuWvaZcsQuNffK3U-QShyfDGQlI1vOINU_PqbtQxhDwa1q8Hi2kWQm4RPNoy0GcN-6OYqRZE0SGoVVS8HjHFqbl/s320/IMG_3878.JPG" width="240" /></a>The ‘for your consideration’ ads have started in the trades, so awards season is underway. The season gets a kickstart on 11 December when the Golden Globe nominations are announced. But momentum really picks up in the first week of January when the nominations are announced for the Producers Guild Awards, the Writers Guild Awards, the American Society of Cinematographers Awards, and the BAFTAs, and the Golden Globe winners are revealed.<br />
<br />
The key dates are:<br />
December<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>9 SAG noms </li>
<li>11 Golden Globe noms </li>
</ul>
<br />
January<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>5 PGA noms </li>
<li>6 WGA noms/ASC noms </li>
<li>8 BAFTA noms </li>
<li>11 <b>Golden Globes </b></li>
<li>12 DGA noms </li>
<li>14 Oscar noms </li>
<li>23 <b>PGA </b></li>
<li>30 <b>SAG </b></li>
</ul>
<br />
February<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>6 <b>DGA </b></li>
<li>13 <b>WGA/ASC (tbc) </b></li>
<li>14 <b>BAFTAs/ASC (tbc)</b></li>
<li>28 <b>Oscars </b></li>
</ul>
<br />
At this time, there are no obvious outstanding favourites for Best Film: for example, Todd Haynes’ beautiful <a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/lff-2015-top-10-memories-no1-carols.html" target="_blank">Carol</a> is one of the most romantic films ever made and reviews have been stellar, but will Oscar fall for a 1950s-set lesbian drama?<br />
<br />
Is <a href="http://stansfilm.blogspot.co.uk/2015/10/lff-2015-top-10-memories-no4-trumbo.html" target="_blank">Trumbo</a> too light on its feet to be accepted as a searing indictment of the McCarthyist Hollywood blacklist? Are journalistic investigations into important topics just too strident to make the likes of Truth and Spotlight palatable?<br />
<br />
Can lightning strike twice for Alejandro G Inarritu with the bleak Revenant? Can a well-reviewed film Steve Jobs deliver in awards season when it hasn’t delivered at the box office?<br />
<br />
Other questions: which is the better Cate Blanchett performance, Truth or Carol? And will she prevent Rooney Mara (who has the more challenging role in Carol) or Charlotte Rampling in 45 Years from winning?<br />
<br />
If it’s any good, will The Force Awakens be recognised?<br />
<br />
Will Charlize Theron and director George Miller be nominated for Mad Max: Fury Road? Does The Martian deserve awards kudos? And what of smaller films like The Big Short, Sicario or Suffragette: can they make hay as the big guns disappoint?<br />
<br />
And will Son Of Saul perform that all-to-rare feat of a Best Foreign Film nominee finding its way on to the main category shortlists?<br />
<br />
And then there’s the small matter of my own awards, the Golden Stans, which will be revealed on Monday 4 January.<br />
<br />
Let battle commence!Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2677380275920141339.post-21492950852042398182015-11-19T16:32:00.001+00:002015-11-19T16:32:32.270+00:00Can Star Wars: The Force Awakens break all box office records?<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">How big will Star Wars: The Force Awakens be? Will it
obliterate every box office record? Maybe… The biggest hit of 2015 so far
is one of the most successful films ever: Jurassic World. So far it’s taken
$652.2m in the US, plus slightly more than $1bn in the rest of the world
(including $228m in China and nearly £100m in the UK). In so doing, it relieved
Avatar of some of its records.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">So here’s your Force Awakens record breaker ready
reckoner:<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<ul>
<li>More than $760.5m needed in the US to
topple Avatar as the most successful film ever there</li>
<li>More than $2.1bn needed internationally to
topple Avatar</li>
<li>More than $2.8bn needed worldwide to topple
Avatar</li>
<li>More than $524.4m needed to beat Jurassic
World’s worldwide opening weekend</li>
<li>More than $208.8m needed in the US to beat
Jurassic World’s opening weekend record</li>
<li>More than $315.6m needed internationally to
beat Jurassic World’s opening weekend record</li>
<li>Jurassic World is the fastest film to every
US marker post from $100m to $650m: it crossed $150m in just two days; after 10
days in play, it had passed the $400m barrier; and on its 17<sup>th </sup>day
on release, it edged over $500m.</li>
<li>The final instalment of Harry Potter holds the US
record for the most successful opening day at $91.1m</li>
<li>Avatar holds the record for the most
successful third, fourth and fifth weekends in the US.</li>
<li>In the UK, Skyfall holds the all-time box
office record of £102.9m, having beaten long-time champion Titanic.</li>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Are there any obstacles to the Force failing to smash
all records? Yes! The first and most obvious is: is it any good? If words gets
out fast via social media that it’s The Phantom Menace all over again, then its
legs will wither in the Western markets very rapidly indeed. The level of
pre-sales/advance bookings will almost certainly mean that short term records
will be smashed no matter what, but if the film is poorly received by its
target audience (the ones who will drive repeat business), then the longer term
records become too much.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Also, Star Wars has no legacy in the world’s second
largest film market, China. Jurassic World’s total there makes it only the
third most successful Hollywood film this year behind Age of Ultron ($240.1m)
and Furious 7 ($390.9m). However, go back five years to Avatar’s release in
China and James Cameron’s smurf movie made an unprecedented $204m just as the
country was expanding its consumption of film.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Reviewing Avatar’s box office performance (Force
Awakens has broadly the same release pattern) is instructive. Its ability to
smash short-term records was hindered by its duration, namely two hours and 40
minutes, which limited the number of performances per screen per day to three.
Force is clocking in at two hours and 15 minutes, so four performances per day
per screen should be the minimum achievable. And Force will show on more
screens than Avatar.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Key to Avatar’s international performance was the
number of countries that it generated more than $100m from: Australia, China,
France, Germany, Japan, Russia, South Korea, Spain and the UK. Furious 7, Jurassic
World and Age of Ultron only passed the $100m mark in China!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">So, in order to beat Avatar’s financial records, Force
will need to beat $100m by a substantial margin in all the major markets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">Will other releases run interference? If Force is not
well received, then yes. Opening day and date with it in the US is Alvin and
Chipmunks: The Road Chip, which take away families with very young children.
Then from Christmas Day, the Oscar hopefuls are unleashed, some in platform
release and others in wide release: Tarantino’s Hateful Eight, Inarritu’s
Revenant, Will Smith’s Concussion, and David O Russell’s Joy (with Jennifer
Lawrence). And there’s also the remake of Point Break. On 15 January, in the
run-up to Martin Luther King Jnr Day, Ride Along 2 arrives: the first Ride
opened on MLK weekend in 2014 with $41.5m – a repeat performance would ensure
that Force would be knocked off the number one spot it should in theory have
held since opening on 18 December. And that would mean it would be unable to
match Titanic’s 15-week run at number one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: JA;">In the UK, Titanic stayed at number one for 13
consecutive weeks. Here, the Force will face ‘opposition’ from the Peanuts
Movie (opening 21 December), and that’s about it until 1 January, when the
Oscar and BAFTA contenders arrive. Having said that, if the Force is strong,
then it should stay at number one in the UK until 12 February (which would mean
eight consecutive weekends at the top; no film has managed more than four weeks
at the top since Avatar) when a flood of major films are unleashed: Zoolander
2, Point Break, and The Road Chip. If it survives that weekend, it will then
face How To Be Single a week later – and that, judging by the trailer, could be
another Bridesmaids.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">My forecast if the Force is well-liked by its target
audience is that it snatches $500m in the US before the end of 2015, and, that
being the case, Avatar’s US record could be beaten (but probably not by
much). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Similarly, it should smash UK records with relative
ease: $200m from the UK is not out of the question. The Chinese will determine
whether Force can make it to $2bn-plus internationally – and Force doesn’t open
in China until the end of January 2016.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Some records will not be threatened: in the Western world, not as many
people go to the cinema as 50 or more years ago, so the records for the numbers
of admissions will not be beaten. The record holder is, of course, Gone With
The Wind: 35m admissions in the UK and 200m-plus in the US. If Force generated
200m admissions in the US with an average of ticket price of, say, $8.20, it
would generate more than $1.6bn – and that isn’t going to happen!</span> </div>
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Stanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06595247517744655332noreply@blogger.com0