Review: The Hunt

So we're gonna talk about another foreign film but this time its not a happy film or a film that children should watch, but its so good and I'm very happy I watched it as I've been going through a bit of a funk in terms of films where I just don't know what to watch and this film kinda sparked that curiosity back again. 

The story is about a man called Lucas who is a teacher in a very close-knit Danish village, he very well liked by everyone including the kids. Until one day he is at Theo his best friend's house, his daughter Klara has a little crush on Lucas and puts a love note in his pocket and kisses him on the lips, Lucas rebuffs Klara's feelings leaving Klara feeling hurt. At school Klara makes comments believing that Lucas sexually abused her, and everyone believes her soon other classmates say the same thing and shones Lucas as a Pedophile and Sexual Predator, and completely ostractised his son Marcus, Lucas's relationship with his girlfriend Nadja is ruined. 

This film is not for children by any means, as it deals with very dark themes there is also a scene that is just so horrifically disgusting it made me cry and that's a rare thing for me in terms of films, as I don't usually cry at films, real life things yes but not films. The whole film is in Danish but don't ever let language put you off from watching a film as yes understanding a film is important but just because its in a different language doesn't mean you can't understand it its like when babies talk and you can't understand them but you know what they mean, I worded it horrifically but it makes sense, plus always make sure it has subtitles aswell because that can help out a lot. 

Its one of those films that really makes you think, as its quite a deep story and not one you can just watch on a casual Friday night while having a takeaway, and particularly if you're not an avid film watcher because its not lighthearted. You really put yourselves in Lucas's shoes as to what its like having everyone treat you like nothing for something you didn't even do. As I'm pretty sure we've all got the blame for something at one point and felt wrongly accused. Its also a frustration with the children aswell, because as soon as one girl said something all the kids were like dominoes and said yes which is frustrating because we all know the truth. 

I love Lucas who is played by Mads Mikkelsen he is such a unique actor I've seen him on IMDB and he's basically the Dutch equivalent to Harrison Ford or something like that, he has a Dutch version of an OBE I think, he received an awful lot of awards for this film which he totally deserved because he is brilliant. Everyone else is amazing in this film but Mads really stands out for me he's also branched out into some mainstream films like Doctor Strange and Casino Royale which I did reviews on. The girl who played Klara is something, I reckon she's gonna get better or I hope I don't want her to turn into Lindsay Lohan. 

The scenery of this film is just gorgeous I like films that are set outside the city, don't get me wrong I love the city but especially when its a foreign film like this its nice that its not set in Copenhagen. Also it gets rid of the stereotype of it being all there is in Denmark are Vikings and they all drink, although there is some drinking in this film but in England we drink aswell. Its such a unique story but let me tell you after this film you'll need a drink because its so hard hitting. I hope you enjoyed this review and I'll speak to you all later have a nice day/week! 

Peppermint Friday Review #32: Imperium

This week's been weird I haven't watched that many films, but I have watched alot of TV as I've really gotten into that recently. But I watched this film last night and I just need to talk about it, Its one of those films. Its called Imperium and its got Daniel Radcliffe and Toni Collette and its about an FBI agent who goes undercover in a white supremacist group. 

The reason I watched this film was not because I love Daniel Radcliffe and I think he's a great actor, but the story is intriguing to me. Now before people go crazy at me and say 'Oh you're a racist how could you be interested in that?' I'm not interested where I wanna join cus I don't believe at all, but I'm interested in the sense of 'why do they believe that?' 'what makes them think that way?' kinda interested. I loved this film I don't think I've seen a film quite like it before, and that's great because I love individuality in a script and a concept of a story.

Daniel Radcliffe's character Nate Foster is a very nice, friendly, threatening and basically Switzerland and he had to evolve into a completely different person to who he was before. His head is shaved he's got a tattoo and shouting racist remarks and just is total opposite to what he was at the start of the film. But he still remains very friendly, and easy to get on with kinda person, Nate has to find someway to relate to these people, and understand why they do what they do. His ultimate main goal is to get to Dallas Wolf who is this radio talk show host, as he is a prime suspect to an attack somewhere. 

The community the group developed seemed very nice and friendly, like Nate and the people he was with went to BBQs. There were kids there and families and very friendly and opening place. Although this is fiction, so some truths are stretched slightly, but I found that interesting and really fascinating to watch as I didn't think it would be like that, I thought it would be very much like an American version of This is England, and it is but its not entirely there are some very nice and sweet characters like Gerry who is a happily married man with kids and at the end you feel guilty because you relate to Gerry and he seems like such a genuine guy and it does bode the question should you be friends with someone who believes in something quite controversial?

It did disappoint me slightly as I was expecting it to be really good and eyeopening, and I was interested and really liked it and I'm not sure what I was expecting but I just thought it would be really controversial and off the cuff story I've never seen before. Also I kinda wanted to see it from the White Supremacy perspective, because noone's agreeing with them, well I'm not I just wanna know why and get an intelligent response not just 'oh because'. But I really liked it, I guess my expectations were high, but I did enjoy it and everyone was really good. I especially liked Johnny he is a teenager who believes everything the White Supremacy believes in and in the end he is a changed man his attitude has changed and no longer believes in it. So I like that it has those characters that see change as a fresh start and leaving your former beliefs isn't a bad thing at all just a start to a new life. 

I love films like this, and what I mean by that is I like watching things that I can't relate to at all, I watch them because I'm fascinated and wanna see if I can relate to them in some way, because its such an opposite thing its brilliant and I find it intriguing. I love where its set aswell, its filmed in Richmond, Virgina and it just looks very nice and chill. You usually see films that are filmed in America that are set in New York and Los Angles, so its refreshing to be set in Virgina. Overall its a very good film, I'm so glad I watched it because there are characters who are brilliant, like Johnny, Gerry and Nate who are all brilliantly written, This post might seem controversial, as this film is controversial but I wanted to talk about it because its unique. So if you're like me and fascinated by this then watch it, if not that's fine too. 

Peppermint Friday Review #30: All About Eve

We're gonna talk about All About Eve as its so good and has the fabulous Bette Davis along with a brief appearance from Marilyn Monroe, and this is a film that I've mentioned before, and I'm gonna talk about it in full detail. Plus I saw this film mention in a Buzzfeed post and it was about films with the sub-text of lesbianism, so why not talk about it.

The story is about a woman called Eve played by Anne Baxter and she is this young, beautiful starlet who loves an actress called Margo Channing played by Bette Davis, and she is this huge Broadway star, who is worried that her nearing 40 will result in her decline in popularity. Eve becomes Margo's assistant and adores Margo, as Margo likes her until she starts to become more jealous of Eve as she tries on her costumes and overtime she becomes Margo understudy, and Margo is more paranoid. 

I love this film, although any Bette Davis film is a winner for me so its not a surprise. But this film is in Bette Davis's later career as Of Human Bondage is her when she's a lot younger, and there are differences in the characters she played but it's practically the same woman just abit older and a difference in accent dialect. As she was English in Of Human Bondage and was her usual American in All About Eve. You could look at the character similar to that of Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard the film and the musical. With it being this ageing starlet and someone may or not be taking advantage of her, in this case I don't believe Eve is taking advantage of Margo, I think she is genuine.

Love Anne Baxter as Eve, as she wasn't a stereotypical crazy fangirl or some spoilt cow she was just a normal girl who liked a play and the actress in it and wanted to meet her and perhaps be as good as her. It was all played very naturalistic and that the problem some people have in the modern age about classic films, people just think all the actors can't act and they stilll think they're on stage shouting making things huge. Yes that does happen but its not every film, like with some films now, some are good, some are just awful, nothing's changed but everything's changed if that makes sense. 

With this film, and with all Bette Davis films I feel, theres a sub-text of sarcastic, sardonic humour with at the same time it being very real and naturalistic and not over the top. As with the 50s I'm guessing it was either I Love Lucy, Musicals and Slapstick Clown Comedy or you were a Bette Davis or a Shirley Maclaine kinda person which is great as you've got the best of both worlds. In terms of costume again just brilliantly done, love how they matched each costume to each particular character like with Bette Davis's character yes she is a bitter woman, but that doesn't mean she has to look awful. 

 In terms of the plot of the story its all understandable as to why she became jealous and envious of Eve as it literally turned into 'All About Eve' and Margo obviously was like 'Aren't I good enough?' I love that with this film when it was made and released it had a young Marilyn Monroe before she did any big films, like before we knew we she really was and after she became a big star they put her name in the poster of the film even though she has one scene in the whole film. 

It kinda turned into a Tall Poppy scenario really as those of you who don't know what that means its basically, when someone or a band wants to do really well in something and someone goes 'I want them to do well, go them!' and they do and are successful and that same person goes 'you've changed, you can't do that' Its the whole 'you can do well and succeed but not as good as me' and that's something we're all at fault with, being jealous of someone's success. Its a backstabbing kinda thing in this film as well, as you've got Margo who's finally found this amazing woman she can be friends with in her stream of life at her age. Then suddenly it seems like Eve was only being friends with her for success, as if there was something in it for her. 

                                                             
Nearing the end of the film the pattern starts again, where Eve gets a very nice fan who wants to be like her. This film is about letting go of the thing you love the most, its about jealousy of being young and beautiful, its about knowing what's geniune and whats not. Its a film that tackles with alot emotions that we as human comprehend and the fact that this was made in the 1950s and is still relevant I feel today, as again we all experience jealousy and letting go of something, theres a quote somewhere ''When it's over leave. Don't continue watering a dead flower'. That's very true in this film, I'm gonna go now and I hope you have a good weekend. 

Review: Life of Pi

Going for a different flavour of films this week, I'm going to be talking about films with Animals in them, so the film can be a comedy, romance, thriller, sci-fi, horror whatever genre just as long as its got an Animal in it. Today we're gonna talk about this beauty of a film, as its so beautiful and breathtaking and as a person who loves animals of all species its great to watch a film with so much diversity and culture.

Now the film Life of Pi is about the life of Piscine who is visited by an author called Yann Martel (who wrote the novel the film was based off) and thinks Pi's life is worth writing a book about. His family owns a zoo and moves to Canada to settle and sell the animals until a shipwreck happens and Pi gets on a lifeboat, along with a Zebra with a broken leg as he lands, an Orangutan, Hygena and a Tiger from his childhood called Richard Parker. From there he has to survive and cope with the conditions he faces in the middle of the ocean and taking care of four animals.

What I like about this film is that its so aesthetically pleasing, its filmed in Taiwan and its so beautiful you can't believe its real, like theres a place that's so breathtaking you only imagine it in story books. The animals that were used in the film were again just so beautiful and stunning, I love animals already but the close ups of them and to see the whites in there eyes and see them as characters rather than just accessories. Because a lot of films that involve animals, they don't take them as characters with thoughts and feelings and that's hard to do as you can't give them dialogue and they usually say never work with kids, and animals as typically they can do what they want. But with this film the animals are just as if not more important than the human characters.

I guess it could be to do with the Hindu aspect of the film, religion plays a big part in this film but it does it in a really nice way that's not too shouty and in your face about it. Pi was bought up with a Hindu family, and when Pi was 12 he was introduced to the views of belief by Christianity and Islam and from there he decided to follow all three. I think that's very open minded and gives total freedom to everyone who wishes to follow a belief. Hinduism plays a big part of the film as from what I know about Hinduism is that they believe animals and creatures deserve respect, hence why there's a lot of Vegetarians. 

This film was directed by Ang Lee who is such a brilliant filmmaker it was obvious this story had to be created on screen by him, he completely understood the plot and the elements of this story and even though I haven't read the book yet, so I guess what I could be saying is blissfully ignorant. The Actors who have played Pi from childhood to adulthood are all so amazing, especially teenage Pi who spent months on that boat and it was his first proper role and a total newcomer. Thats another thing I love about this film is that Ang Lee didn't choose a huge actor who already had a big following, he chose an Actor who was everything Pi was despite his background.

                                                              
Cinematography in this film is just stunning, I need to go to Taiwan now. The animals were beautiful from the animals in the zoo to the animals that kept Pi company on the boat in the middle of the ocean and the meerkats on the island that Pi and Richard Parker end up on, thats another character I love Richard Parker, he was so gorgeous and really symbolises Pi's journey as at the beginning Pi's fascinated by Richard but Richard is a typical tiger and sees him as an another human. As it goes on they bond and in some ways Richard kinda adopts Pi and brings him and turns him into a man especially with the connection Richard has with Pi's father at the beginning. 

I'm going to end this post on this gif, and I love what Pi's saying about religion its a million different doors and rooms so why rent a room when you can buy a house with different rooms. The animals are the real stars of this film as you can see all the emotions of there face, like what they're thinking how they're feeling all the things when it comes to Acting with humans. It shows animals how I see them, and I do believe that they are such beautiful, intelligent creatures who I'm sure could speak would have a lot to say. All I can about this film is that, it really affected me and nailed what I think about religion and animals. You should definitely watch this film, and I need to read the book now as the film is beautiful the book is usually better. Anyway I'll see you all on Wednesday and have a lovely morning/afternoon/evening/night wherever you are!

Women In Film

Follow my blog with Bloglovin This post was along time coming, and here it is I wanna talk about what I think of feminism and whether I'm a feminist or not, and women in film from behind the scene jobs such as Directors, Producers, Writers and such, also I wanna talk about female characters and they're representation and what impact they have. I also wanna touch on another topic that's not talked about as much and thats a female who's a fan of films, like me. 

Before you ask I am a feminist but I'm a quiet feminist I say that as the word scares me a bit and I'll explain why. When I first heard of the word 'Feminist' I was about 8 or 9 and we learnt about the Suffragettes in London fighting for the right to vote for women that's when I first heard that term and what it meant and since them until fairly recently that's just what I thought a feminist was. I thought a feminist was a woman who was stuck in the old Suffragette times thinking we needed rights for women and yes we do but not in the U.K which is where I live, but in some underdeveloped countries and countries that women don't have support and aren't as lucky we are in the U.K and USA where we have the vote and free speech if you get what I mean.

That term of what I thought what a feminist was which is very old fashioned and really bad to think that way, as recently its not the case anymore. Like with Emma Watson and the speech she gave at the UN and the HeForShe campaign, she made feminism much more modern and clear the light on it a little. She basically explained what feminism is much less about women but more of a whole issue with both genders, its about equality for everyone and thats what I believe in its not 'Women Vs Men' or 'Men Vs Women' its a human issue. I say I'm a quiet feminist as there are still some scary, crazy feminists out there, but obviously not everyone is and I'm sure everyone will know what I mean by crazy feminists.

Anyway that's what I think of feminism and me being a feminist, its not like its weird I think everyone is a feminist. In terms of films and the behind the scenes aspect, the gender gap is interesting as its not like women are rubbish at being Directors, or Producers and Writers. It is getting better, particularly in TV I feel as there are more Female Producers and Writers and definitely Directors than there were 10 years ago or so. It is getting better its just we're not choosing to see it, like for instance Breaking Bad an amazing TV Show, extremely popular and its had 6 female producers working on the show consistently for 5 years I think thats amazing and brilliant but often overlooked. Plus there are so many amazing Directors that just happen to be female like Sofia Coppola, Jane Campion and Jodie Foster who have made amazing films, but people don't put them in there favorite film list, its usually great films by a female director. It should be she's a great Director/Producer/Writer or whatever and she's a female, it should be about how good something rather than whether it was made by a woman or not. 

Female characters have improved so much, its amazing in Film and TV. Female characters are just as good and strong as the Male characters if not better sometimes. I don't know one person who doesn't wanna be Arya Stark from Game Of Thrones or Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, as they're so strong and admirable women to look up to. But with the amazing characters of women in Film and TV theres also the bad characters, where writers feel the need to show as much flesh as possible or to show how chivalry the man is by the woman being a damsel in distress. I feel there are some badly written female characters as well as badly written male characters, but again its getting alot better.

As a woman who loves Films and TV something that I find is quite typically a male thing to enjoy, I say that as there aren't many females my age, older, younger who like the same things as I like that could be my problem that I'm not expanding myself more, but its something I have had problems with. In my experience and with my age it can be quite difficult to talk to people about films as they just assume I love Chick Flicks, Romantic Comedies and thats all I know. With my age, its usually with the older generation of film lovers, who immediately make the assumption of young people only liking films that were made in the modern age which can be the case but not always.

Its not that bad its just annoying as you're not taken seriously as someone who genuinely enjoys films, but its something that I've kinda used to my advantage in a way. As I'm talking to someone about films and they mention an actress like Bette Davis or an Alfred Hitchcock film, and quickly they try to explain to me who Bette Davis is or what the Alfred Hitchcock film is about and them having to explain who he is, because I clearly wouldn't know being a young woman who only likes Chick Flicks. I do enjoy being quite smug about it when I turn round and go I know who Bette Davis is, or yeah I've seen that Alfred Hitchcock film by the way, and there faces are just priceless because they don't expect it and suddenly you're taken seriously.

There is this thing called 'The Bechdel Test' for those of you who don't know its the test that show the active presence of females on film. Its based upon this comic strip and the questions are 1) the film has to have at least two women in it who both have names 2) who talk to each other 3) about something besides a man. You'll be surprised about how many films don't pass this test and films that do, examples of films that didn't pass the test are, The Social Network, The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy and the Original Star Wars Trilogy, some examples that did pass the test are, Fifty Shades Of Grey, American Pie 2, and Deep Throat. I do find the test interesting as it should be so simple to have female presence in film, and the amount of films fail to do this its crazy, but its not the B-all and End all of good and bad films. I mean it doesn't distinguish whats a good film and a bad film that's matter of preference. 

Overall I think women have flaws as do men, I don't believe there's a superior with them both in terms of characters and jobs in films because like with any job or character there are good and bad people, its not a case of Men are the best Directors because some Men might be crap, and also not all Women are only fit for Makeup Artists and can't Direct at all. I do think there should be more encouragement for women to partake in the behind the scenes jobs as it were, because we're not encouraged enough to believe that its a job just as important as an Actress, Makeup Artist, Costume etc, I don't think, but that's an opinion so I could be talking rubbish to you. Although I believe you should do something because you want to and have the ambition to not because you wanna be the first at it, or there's no enough females in this area of job so I'll do it.

I hope this post wasn't too waffleley and incoherent and I got my point across without sounding like a feminazi. So that's what I think of feminism and this will be only time I'll talk about this in real detail as I do have opinions, but I like talking about films and on this blog that's what I do I mean it says it in the title so it speaks for itself in a way. I do hope you enjoyed this rather opinionated post of me talking about women and women in films, as I did enjoy writing this but I'll talk to you all on Friday which I will do a review on and it will be back to normal. I would love to know your opinions on women in film, as its interesting to know about different opinions and such. My twitter is @zaravalerielane if you're interested, anyway I'll talk to you all on Friday!

Peppermint Friday Review #24: Pulp Fiction

I think to end this week with one of my favorite films, is a good way to end it plus its just so Peppermint Friday. I love Quentin Tarantino and I know he's either you love him or hate him, and the content he creates may not be for people under a certain age, but silly 14 year old me who didn't listen to my teacher, as we were talking about films, and he mentioned this film and told me not to watch it as its pretty dark, but I didn't listen and boy I'm glad I didn't, and here's why.

Pulp Fiction is told in a narrative structure, at the beginning its a prologue which is in a diner with a couple having a pretty boring conversation. It combines with two hitmen Jules Winnfield and Vincent Vega who are both played by Samuel L Jackson and John Travolta, and Vincent is asked to take care of Mia Wallace, Marsellus wife. Theres a Boxer called Butch played by Bruce Willis accepts money from Marsellus who just so happens to be Jules and Vincent's boss.

The story is so hard to explain, its one of those films you have to watch as its hard to explain, and the storyline is so intricate because Quentin's storytelling is so brilliant, to have someone telling you the plot is so crap to how it is when you actually watch it, its a million times better than someone explaining it to you. That's how I feel with Tarantino films anyway, its one of those things where you just have to watch it to understand it. Tarantino's storytelling is so unique and wonderful, I love how in this film he told it like you would in a novel where you have a prologue, and all the character intertwine with each other and it all makes sense. 

John Travolta and Samuel L Jackson are just brilliant I mean you can't beat them they are just fantastic. Before this film I knew who these actors were, I had a John Travolta in my mind as Danny from Grease but in this film he is quite an average guy, that sounds mean, but comparing him to Danny he is. Samuel L Jackson is so mental in this, I adore him so much. I actually don't know whether to be scared of him or to just laugh along with him. His character does prop up alot in Social Media as a meme so the character is quite a familiar face in the modern age. 

Uma Thurman is a fantastic actress, her costume, her hair, her makeup, her everything is just so perfect and down to a T as to how damaged she is and intriguing qualities to Mia. I mean everyone wants a Mia Wallace haircut at one point let's face it. What does inritate me slightly is that Uma is a fantastic actress, but I haven't seen her in that many stuff. I know she was in a few other Tarantino films, such as Kill Bill Volume 1 & 2, Batman and Robin, Les Miserable. I guess that could be me, it probably is just me the fact that I haven't seen her in many films. 

Bruce Willis is again brilliant, love all the scenes with him and his girlfriend Fabienne particularly those as they stand out to me, and relfect his character the most. Especially when Fabienne forgets to pack his watch, and he just loses it I don't know why but I like it. I remember watching a Simpsons episode and it referenced a scene in Pulp Fiction, and as a kid I watched it then and thought nothing of it, but now that I've seen this film that scene has a whole new meaning to it. One thing I'm so excited to see and just dive into is that Quentin Tarantino has stated that he is gonna retire after making 10 films and he has made about 8 or 9 I think, and people have asked what he's gonna do as he isn't gonna be filmmaking. He's said in interviews that he's gonna write books and make the films he's made into plays, so a Pulp Fiction play, that's something I need to watch and be in. 

 The couple at the beginning of the film are just fantastic, at the beginning you don't think too much about them, like 'yeah okay cool' but as you get to know then, particularly in the last scene in which they appear, thats when shit breaks the fan. Its funny with all the characters in this film you'd think there must be one I hate, and yeah the couple I do like but they do annoy me ever so slightly, not sure why they do, they just do. Its wonderful that the film so brilliant ties everyone together and makes it so exciting to watch.                                                                                                                                                     

This film will knock your socks off, and will no doubt be unique and wonderful to watch and unlike anything you have seen before. Its a Cult Classic you'll see people dressing as the characters whether it be for Halloween/Fancy Dress or for a screening of the film. People have played parodies to the film, homages. Its such a brilliant film, with a strong fan base and possibly my favorite Tarantino film.