I don't know why but recently I have been sorely disappointed in films that have been hyped up. Everytime I hear about a good film with a good cast I get super excited to see it and then when I finally do, it is always a major let down. Case in point, I watched 'Looper' last night, while the acting was great and the story was interesting, I wasn't in love with it as everyone else on the planet seems to be, I was actually majorly disappointed. That is why I think maybe the key is to keep expectations low, as all the films I have enjoyed recently were ones I was expecting nothing from, and I think my expectations were so low, they actually suprised me. My favorite film of last year was hands down 'Pitch Perfect', I know that makes me sound like a giggly teenage girl, but it was just do damn enjoyable. It made me happy and excited and I left the film content with life. I know that I should be all deep and pondering and be loving and watching films that have a deep meaning, but all I can say is NO. When you grow up you realize that life is hard enough and sometimes the real world sucks, so why not escape into mindless entertainment. If you are on board with my way of thinking you can watch some pretty hammy films and enjoy them! Last night I watched the Miley Cyrus film 'So Undercover' and I enjoyed the hell out of it! Sure it was not a classic film to go down in the history books, but it was random nonsensical fun, and it had a lot of good actors - Jeremy Piven! All that being said I do enjoy classic films as well, not just cheeseball fests, if you don't believe me, ony of my all time favorite movies is 'The Shawshank Redemption'. And why you ask? Because honestly my expectaions were pretty damn low, as I watched it when I was 13 with my Dad. He picked it out telling me it was a great movie, and when I asked the plot, he told me men in prison. Not exactly selling it to me at 13. Especially since the men were the same age as my Dad but I am glad I watched it as I was blown away! Other similar classic great films I have loved due to low expectations are 'Singin' In the Rain', 'Fight Club', 'Usual Suspects' and 'Harvey'. I think the way forward is low expectations, then when the film is actually good it will blow your mind and when its not your not epically let down, as I was by 'Looper' and 'Vanilla Sky' (sorry had to add that in there, it still gripes me that I wasted 2 hours on that!)
And just to add on, I think the same thing can be said about life, expect great things and be sorely disappointed. Expect nothing and be happily suprised. Pessimistic? Probably. But it is my rule to live by, and proof that I am not some peppy adult wannabe teeny booper but an experienced life liver. Yep.
Friday, April 5, 2013
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Disney and the Male Role Model.
Disney films are a fundamental part of childhood. Before you even enter school and the social realm of society, you are watching and lapping up Disney films like there is no tomorrow. At least I did and every other kid on the block seemed to be doing the same. It wasn't until I went to watch Disney Pixar's most recent addition to their vast collection of Princess movies, 'Brave' that I realized how odd it was to be watching a Disney movie, which was not about the importance of the female/male relationship. 'Brave' is a breath of fresh air for a Princess movie as she does not find true love at the end, but instead builds up a better relationship with her Mother. Whereas all the Disney films I watched growing up consisted of a young Princess being tricked or preyed upon by a wicked Step-Mother or Witch until eventually saved by her 'true love'. And the Father figure (if alive) is usually protective, some characters might have seemed controlling, and everything they did was out of love for their daughter.
Well I know that Disney Princess films are based on Fairy Tales, but as a little kid, other than your parents, you get your ideas and views of the world from TV, Movies and books, like Fairy Tales and Disney. And maybe I am reaching here but I think this idealization of the male figure as being the protective Father or the handsome 'true love', has led to a epic disappointment among women. I once heard that everyone has some sort of 'daddy issues', and I am starting to think Disney might have helped contribute to these issues.
For example in 'Cinderella' her loving, doting Father wants his little girl to have a Mother so he marries for his daughter's sake. Unfortunatley her Father then dies and the woman he had married turns into an evil Step-Mother character but Cinderella is ultimately rescued by a handsome Prince. So while poor Cinderella didn't have the easiest of times the two most important male figures in her life, were in essence the ideal. Whereas her mother figure is long dead and subsequently replaced by an evil Step-Mother, and same goes for Snow White. But these girls at least knew one thing and that was that their Father's would have done anything for them.
Then you have 'The Little Mermaid', Ariel's Mother is also long since deceased and while Ariel has her ups and downs with her Father, he is protective out of love for her. And he had good reasons to be protective as Ariel almost became a shrivelled up little...whatever those things were, by Ursula, an evil Witch-type, until her handsome Prince resuced her. Then her over-protective father lets her (his 16 year old mermaid daughter) leave behind her home and become a human to be with her Prince forever, just to make her happy.
And then you have 'Beauty and the Beast', again Mother long since dead and her father while slightly eccentric loves Belle more than anything and vice versa. Belle even gives up her own life for her Father, and then he tries to save her, but to no avail as he is a small non-threatening Disney Dad. But all ends up well for Belle as while she is living with a beast, he is acutally a good person deep down and a Prince. What are the chances? (In my opinion he should have stayed a beast as was far better looking than the Prince we met at the end.)
Then last but certainly not least is 'Aladdin', where we have Princess Jasmine and her beloved Father the Sultan. But instead of a threatening Step-Mother, there is a creepily thin and tall Jafar. Whose power comes entirely from his stick thing, because I am sure if he didn't 'mind the gap' when getting off the underground he would slide straight on through. The Sultan in my opinion is the most lovable of Disney Dad's and I often would hope my Dad would wake up resembling the dear old Santa-like Sultan. But that never happened.
'Aladdin' is different though as it doesn't even have a female Mother-type character and Jasmine is not the lead of the film as we spend our time following the eponymous hero Aladdin.
I also grew up watching 'Full House' (which ran on ABC - part of the Disney family), where once again the mother is dead. This actually started to become somewhat of a theme for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, if you remember 'Two of a Kind' and 'It Takes Two'. Instead you had a loving and protective Father, Uncle and Best Friend of the Dad, and while the viewers felt bad for the girls' in the show for being Motherless, they made it seem like so much fun to have 3 adult males taking care of them. Totally a flashback to 'Three Men and a Little Baby' and subsequently 'Lady', which were beyond epic films. If I had to be abandonded by my Mother as a baby, if she had left me on Tom Selleck's door step, I think I would have coped, as long as he never shaved that moustache.
I also watched Disney - ABC produced '8 Simple Rules' when I was in my teenage years and the over-protective Dad was the whole plotline, but only towards the daughters. The episode often had the Dad, Paul (the great John Ritter) questioning his older daughters about their behaviour, when the youngest child, the son could run free, no questions asked.
In real life I don't know anyone who has such a overprotective TV-like father. But I have met a lot of people who bang on about their 'daddy issues' and it makes me wonder... Did Disney form the ideal of what a father was supposed to be? And when their own fail to live up to those Fairy Tale ideals are we left angry and disapponted with them? Do we set impossible standards for our dear old Dad's?
In regards to the Prince-issue I know many girls have been left heartbroken, when the man they thought was their Prince turned out to be nothing but a toad (or rat). I mean come on, we can all relate to a Taylor Swift song. And she has said she believes in true love and Fairy Tales, and I have often heard people dismiss her attitude saying she is living in a Disney fanatsy. And maybe they are right. Maybe a lot of girls are living in this Disney fuelled fantasy waiting for a handsome man to save them from whatever they need to be saved from, and if he has a handsome stack of cash to go with the pretty face then all the better. I mean isn't that why people are mooning over Kate Middleton's story, because she is what they term the real life Fairy Tale. Even though her before life was hardly a Snow White or Cinderella situation.
Now maybe all I am saying is just my own crazy theories running rampant. It just seems in the past Disney was putting emphasis of the Father figure. Even in 'The Lion King', Simba and his dad Mufasa shared a deep bond. But his poor mother was obviously not so important that after Simba thinks he killed his dad, he runs away. And I know he was probably worried about his Mother's reaction if she knew he killed Mufasa, but he doesn't even seem to think about her well-being. And when he makes the triumphant return he cares more about being with Nala. Now for this neglectful attitude towards Simba's Mother (I can't even remember her name she was that forgettable and unimportant) I should look towards Shakespeare and not Fairy Tales. As we all get that 'The Lion King' was a loosely adaptded children's version of 'Hamlet' with lions. And thank god they made Nala a strong lioness, can you imagine if they decided to create her as an 'Ophelia' character. Now that is one lady who was rife with 'daddy issues' and pulled asunder by her toad-Prince.
To me it seems that Fairy Tales and older Disney films made the Mother characters either passive or non-existent, so this leads to no expectations from their children. Whereas the Father is built up into a fantasy leading children to find faults with their own Dad in comparison. Same thing goes with the Prince, I think that sometimes we girls forget when we day dream about love that our Prince is first and foremost a human, so there are bound to be flaws. But to be honest in my opinion all the Disney Princes always seemed too boring and perfect, well except for the Beast and Aladding but they were so obviously the stand out ones because they were unique. And every girl loves a bad boy, but that is a whole different kettle of fish.
Well I know that Disney Princess films are based on Fairy Tales, but as a little kid, other than your parents, you get your ideas and views of the world from TV, Movies and books, like Fairy Tales and Disney. And maybe I am reaching here but I think this idealization of the male figure as being the protective Father or the handsome 'true love', has led to a epic disappointment among women. I once heard that everyone has some sort of 'daddy issues', and I am starting to think Disney might have helped contribute to these issues.
For example in 'Cinderella' her loving, doting Father wants his little girl to have a Mother so he marries for his daughter's sake. Unfortunatley her Father then dies and the woman he had married turns into an evil Step-Mother character but Cinderella is ultimately rescued by a handsome Prince. So while poor Cinderella didn't have the easiest of times the two most important male figures in her life, were in essence the ideal. Whereas her mother figure is long dead and subsequently replaced by an evil Step-Mother, and same goes for Snow White. But these girls at least knew one thing and that was that their Father's would have done anything for them.
Then you have 'The Little Mermaid', Ariel's Mother is also long since deceased and while Ariel has her ups and downs with her Father, he is protective out of love for her. And he had good reasons to be protective as Ariel almost became a shrivelled up little...whatever those things were, by Ursula, an evil Witch-type, until her handsome Prince resuced her. Then her over-protective father lets her (his 16 year old mermaid daughter) leave behind her home and become a human to be with her Prince forever, just to make her happy.
And then you have 'Beauty and the Beast', again Mother long since dead and her father while slightly eccentric loves Belle more than anything and vice versa. Belle even gives up her own life for her Father, and then he tries to save her, but to no avail as he is a small non-threatening Disney Dad. But all ends up well for Belle as while she is living with a beast, he is acutally a good person deep down and a Prince. What are the chances? (In my opinion he should have stayed a beast as was far better looking than the Prince we met at the end.)
Then last but certainly not least is 'Aladdin', where we have Princess Jasmine and her beloved Father the Sultan. But instead of a threatening Step-Mother, there is a creepily thin and tall Jafar. Whose power comes entirely from his stick thing, because I am sure if he didn't 'mind the gap' when getting off the underground he would slide straight on through. The Sultan in my opinion is the most lovable of Disney Dad's and I often would hope my Dad would wake up resembling the dear old Santa-like Sultan. But that never happened.
'Aladdin' is different though as it doesn't even have a female Mother-type character and Jasmine is not the lead of the film as we spend our time following the eponymous hero Aladdin.
I also grew up watching 'Full House' (which ran on ABC - part of the Disney family), where once again the mother is dead. This actually started to become somewhat of a theme for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, if you remember 'Two of a Kind' and 'It Takes Two'. Instead you had a loving and protective Father, Uncle and Best Friend of the Dad, and while the viewers felt bad for the girls' in the show for being Motherless, they made it seem like so much fun to have 3 adult males taking care of them. Totally a flashback to 'Three Men and a Little Baby' and subsequently 'Lady', which were beyond epic films. If I had to be abandonded by my Mother as a baby, if she had left me on Tom Selleck's door step, I think I would have coped, as long as he never shaved that moustache.
I also watched Disney - ABC produced '8 Simple Rules' when I was in my teenage years and the over-protective Dad was the whole plotline, but only towards the daughters. The episode often had the Dad, Paul (the great John Ritter) questioning his older daughters about their behaviour, when the youngest child, the son could run free, no questions asked.
In real life I don't know anyone who has such a overprotective TV-like father. But I have met a lot of people who bang on about their 'daddy issues' and it makes me wonder... Did Disney form the ideal of what a father was supposed to be? And when their own fail to live up to those Fairy Tale ideals are we left angry and disapponted with them? Do we set impossible standards for our dear old Dad's?
In regards to the Prince-issue I know many girls have been left heartbroken, when the man they thought was their Prince turned out to be nothing but a toad (or rat). I mean come on, we can all relate to a Taylor Swift song. And she has said she believes in true love and Fairy Tales, and I have often heard people dismiss her attitude saying she is living in a Disney fanatsy. And maybe they are right. Maybe a lot of girls are living in this Disney fuelled fantasy waiting for a handsome man to save them from whatever they need to be saved from, and if he has a handsome stack of cash to go with the pretty face then all the better. I mean isn't that why people are mooning over Kate Middleton's story, because she is what they term the real life Fairy Tale. Even though her before life was hardly a Snow White or Cinderella situation.
Now maybe all I am saying is just my own crazy theories running rampant. It just seems in the past Disney was putting emphasis of the Father figure. Even in 'The Lion King', Simba and his dad Mufasa shared a deep bond. But his poor mother was obviously not so important that after Simba thinks he killed his dad, he runs away. And I know he was probably worried about his Mother's reaction if she knew he killed Mufasa, but he doesn't even seem to think about her well-being. And when he makes the triumphant return he cares more about being with Nala. Now for this neglectful attitude towards Simba's Mother (I can't even remember her name she was that forgettable and unimportant) I should look towards Shakespeare and not Fairy Tales. As we all get that 'The Lion King' was a loosely adaptded children's version of 'Hamlet' with lions. And thank god they made Nala a strong lioness, can you imagine if they decided to create her as an 'Ophelia' character. Now that is one lady who was rife with 'daddy issues' and pulled asunder by her toad-Prince.
To me it seems that Fairy Tales and older Disney films made the Mother characters either passive or non-existent, so this leads to no expectations from their children. Whereas the Father is built up into a fantasy leading children to find faults with their own Dad in comparison. Same thing goes with the Prince, I think that sometimes we girls forget when we day dream about love that our Prince is first and foremost a human, so there are bound to be flaws. But to be honest in my opinion all the Disney Princes always seemed too boring and perfect, well except for the Beast and Aladding but they were so obviously the stand out ones because they were unique. And every girl loves a bad boy, but that is a whole different kettle of fish.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Taylor Swift Rocks!!
Now I know I just posted but I just had to say that Taylor Swift's new music video '22' is awesome. That might be me revealling my inner angsty 16 year old, but I love her, I think her music is great and she seems to be having fun! Plus she has pretty awesome style, or maybe it is just the fact that anything will look good on you, if your 5'10' and have a great figure. Either way I say yay!
Now I have been a Taylor fan since summer 2008, and for living in the UK that is pretty hardcore. I remember being in my room listening to songs on Myspace (Oh Myspace! Those were the days) and then her song 'I'd Lie' came on and I was hooked. Now I know this will seem hard to believe but I was a dreamy teenager, who believed in romance and true love, so this song was exactly what I wanted to feel about someone one day. After that I quickly downloaded all her songs, and since they were early days it consisted of her first and only album 'Taylor Swift'. I remember telling everyone about her music and since she definitely had a more country vibe back then, they ignored me. Now flash forward 5 years later and she is one of the biggest stars in music and everyone knows her name. Even if some people know more about her dating life than music. But I am still a fan, and all my nay saying friends have been brought into the Taylor filled light. Especially with the release of 'Red' which is a more mature sound. Now I love 'Red' but some songs definitely had to grow on me as I was still all loved up on 'Speak Now' -'Mean' is my song! But '22' was an instant hit with me and when I talked to my friends we all agreed it was our tune! It is just so fun, and upbeat and it's about hanging out with your best friends, which is always the best cure for anything.
I love the beachy scenes for the video, as you always imagine a perfect day would be at the beach. Plus I love the hipster get ups. I know people love to make fun of hipsters, but maybe it is because we are all secretly jealous. I also love how Taylor used her actual friends, I totally spotted Jessica Szohr (of Gossip Girl fame) and I could of sworn I saw Great Gerwig (Arthur, Damsels in Distress) but am still unsure. I heard Selena Gomez was supposed to make an appearance but she was probably busy with promoting 'Spring Breakers', but we all know they are friends anyway, even though that would have been cool. I think the video and the song are great. And if you don't believe me, check it out for yourself. Might not be your thing, but it is still a pretty infectious tune. Here is a link
22
Now I am about to go away with some of my best friends and all I can say, is we will be watching this, and I would like to say recreate it...But the UK is not as sunny and beach friendly as Southern California, especially not with the current snowfall and rain and wind! At least we can listen to it and dance around like mad jackasses, now what is better than that!
Now I have been a Taylor fan since summer 2008, and for living in the UK that is pretty hardcore. I remember being in my room listening to songs on Myspace (Oh Myspace! Those were the days) and then her song 'I'd Lie' came on and I was hooked. Now I know this will seem hard to believe but I was a dreamy teenager, who believed in romance and true love, so this song was exactly what I wanted to feel about someone one day. After that I quickly downloaded all her songs, and since they were early days it consisted of her first and only album 'Taylor Swift'. I remember telling everyone about her music and since she definitely had a more country vibe back then, they ignored me. Now flash forward 5 years later and she is one of the biggest stars in music and everyone knows her name. Even if some people know more about her dating life than music. But I am still a fan, and all my nay saying friends have been brought into the Taylor filled light. Especially with the release of 'Red' which is a more mature sound. Now I love 'Red' but some songs definitely had to grow on me as I was still all loved up on 'Speak Now' -'Mean' is my song! But '22' was an instant hit with me and when I talked to my friends we all agreed it was our tune! It is just so fun, and upbeat and it's about hanging out with your best friends, which is always the best cure for anything.
I love the beachy scenes for the video, as you always imagine a perfect day would be at the beach. Plus I love the hipster get ups. I know people love to make fun of hipsters, but maybe it is because we are all secretly jealous. I also love how Taylor used her actual friends, I totally spotted Jessica Szohr (of Gossip Girl fame) and I could of sworn I saw Great Gerwig (Arthur, Damsels in Distress) but am still unsure. I heard Selena Gomez was supposed to make an appearance but she was probably busy with promoting 'Spring Breakers', but we all know they are friends anyway, even though that would have been cool. I think the video and the song are great. And if you don't believe me, check it out for yourself. Might not be your thing, but it is still a pretty infectious tune. Here is a link
22
Now I am about to go away with some of my best friends and all I can say, is we will be watching this, and I would like to say recreate it...But the UK is not as sunny and beach friendly as Southern California, especially not with the current snowfall and rain and wind! At least we can listen to it and dance around like mad jackasses, now what is better than that!
An Appeal to the Academy.
I love the Oscars, I love the glitz and glamor and of course the Films. However, one thing which I do not understand is the fact that there is not an Oscar for Best Trailer. Because in my opinion the best part about going to the cinema is the trailers. And I know there are tons of people who agree with me. The trailer is such a powerful part of the movie as it excites you and entices you. It is a powerful marketing tool. Posters make you aware of the film and intrigue you, but the trailer seals the deal. It can either make or break the movie.
While some people complain that the trailer gives away the entire thing, or that all the best parts are in the trailer, it makes you wonder what the editor is supposed to do? They need to satisfy the Film makers and producers as well as audiences and of course the Hollywood standard of making it accessible to everyone 'including slow Joe in the back row'. So they need to show you bits of what the movie is about, as well as show something that is worth watching.
That is probably why I love watching the trailers as sometimes it is better than the film itself. And there are definitely those trailers which are pure art, most notably the first trailer for the US version of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', that trailer was mind-blowingly amazing! See here. Trailer So I appeal to the Academy to consider making 'Best Trailer' into an award category, I think people would agree with me, and perhaps it might make some trailers better as it would up the ante.
And here is a teaser trailer, which I think is pretty good, for those who haven't seen this yet, it's 'The Bling Ring'.
Link
While some people complain that the trailer gives away the entire thing, or that all the best parts are in the trailer, it makes you wonder what the editor is supposed to do? They need to satisfy the Film makers and producers as well as audiences and of course the Hollywood standard of making it accessible to everyone 'including slow Joe in the back row'. So they need to show you bits of what the movie is about, as well as show something that is worth watching.
That is probably why I love watching the trailers as sometimes it is better than the film itself. And there are definitely those trailers which are pure art, most notably the first trailer for the US version of 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo', that trailer was mind-blowingly amazing! See here. Trailer So I appeal to the Academy to consider making 'Best Trailer' into an award category, I think people would agree with me, and perhaps it might make some trailers better as it would up the ante.
And here is a teaser trailer, which I think is pretty good, for those who haven't seen this yet, it's 'The Bling Ring'.
Link
Sunday, March 17, 2013
First Post.
Now the hardest part of blogging or really writing anything, where to start? As is glaringly obvious from this blog, I love film and TV and Hollywood. So I thought why not share my valuable insights and thoughts with the world wide web.
Now a warning, while I like to think I have a sophisticated palette, there might be a lot of content which is considered quite low brow but after studying film for years, I have learned to enjoy film and TV for the, pure entertainment and escapism of it all. Plus I also like to think of myself as still being 16 and not the advanced age I actually am (25!)
Now what to start with???
Perhaps the most exciting news that I heard this week is the epic return of 'Veronica Mars', and what more as a feature length movie! Now if anyone has not watched the show, I am saying it for your own good, do the right thing and WATCH IT!! It is funny, witty, filled with great and fully developed characters, and every girl will wish they had the sass and smarts of Veronica. What is more interesting about this epic long awaited news, is that it was done through Kickstarter, which could be a great way for the fans and creators to get the shows and movies they have always wanted. I am thinking it is time for a Gilmore Girls return! I would love to know what happened between Luke and Lorelai and what did Rory do after the Obama campaign? Did she get back together with Logan? So many questions that need answered!
I am totally having bloggers block right now and have no idea what to write...This whole blog thing is harder than it seems, if it was just writing my thoughts as they came it would be easy, but probably not very interesting. So I will wrap it up, sorry it was short, I think it is just getting started is always the hard part.
Now a warning, while I like to think I have a sophisticated palette, there might be a lot of content which is considered quite low brow but after studying film for years, I have learned to enjoy film and TV for the, pure entertainment and escapism of it all. Plus I also like to think of myself as still being 16 and not the advanced age I actually am (25!)
Now what to start with???
Perhaps the most exciting news that I heard this week is the epic return of 'Veronica Mars', and what more as a feature length movie! Now if anyone has not watched the show, I am saying it for your own good, do the right thing and WATCH IT!! It is funny, witty, filled with great and fully developed characters, and every girl will wish they had the sass and smarts of Veronica. What is more interesting about this epic long awaited news, is that it was done through Kickstarter, which could be a great way for the fans and creators to get the shows and movies they have always wanted. I am thinking it is time for a Gilmore Girls return! I would love to know what happened between Luke and Lorelai and what did Rory do after the Obama campaign? Did she get back together with Logan? So many questions that need answered!
I am totally having bloggers block right now and have no idea what to write...This whole blog thing is harder than it seems, if it was just writing my thoughts as they came it would be easy, but probably not very interesting. So I will wrap it up, sorry it was short, I think it is just getting started is always the hard part.
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