A rant about 3D...

You've probably heard now that 3D television is coming our way and this makes me very sad. Although 3D films are obviously pulling audiences in through their new techniques of bringing the film alive, it just seems silly to me. I mean, look at that picture. Doesn't it make you want to stamp on those glasses just a little bit?

I genuinely do think that Avatar is beautiful. I didn't like the storyline at all but in terms of the graphics it outweighs almost every other film I've seen. And this wouldn't have been half as amazing if it wasn't in 3D. But for every other 3D film I have seen, the whole idea of things jumping out at you should really just be kept in Pirates 4D at Thorpe Park. It's turning Hollywood cinema into an even more money stealing, audience weakening, dimension crazed gimmick that makes going to the movies a less than appealing process if you know it's in 3D.

I realise cinema is all about development, and when sound was introduced to film, audiences responded very negatively to it, and when colour was brought to our screens it brought the interpretation of a film to a whole new level. But really, what is 3D doing to film? Serious film that is.

Clash of the Titans... in 3D. My Bloody Valentine... in 3D. Concerts and football games... in 3D. I really feel it is taking the seriousness of a beloved process of making and filming a feature and turning it into an entertaining format to make you go 'oooh' and 'ahhh'.

With children's movies, it's another story. Obviously, all kids want to do is go 'ohh' and 'ahh' so by having this exciting process of things looking as if they're right in front of you is really great for them. It makes them laugh and get giddy about the films they're watching because the images are genuinely entertaining. But it is when you take this pre-school excitement and turn it into something serious that is just becomes a mess on screen.

With Sony planning the future release of Bravia 3D televisions, this craze is obviously not going to give in for a long time. Avatar are even releasing a 3D version of the film later this year to coincide with the TVs to pull in even more money. The main reason people were going to the cinema to see this amazing Cameron film was because it had beautiful effects. By releasing a 2D version now and a 3D version later just shows how money grabbing this business is.

And even directors are being forced to keep up with this trend by developing their films to this idea of 3D. Because they have centred around making the images pop, the rest of the film tends to lack in goodness. Alice in Wonderland was gorgeous in terms of imagery, but Burton had to include those little scenes of Depp throwing the hat towards the screen just to keep you perked up through the less than riveting reinvention of the story.

This is just a little annoying factor I keep running into when I go to the cinema. I truly avoid 3D as much as possible because it bugs the hell out of me. But I totally get why people love it, and I guess it is just something that seems to be getting more people interested in film... which is... errrugh, I'll force myself to say it... good if they have to do it this way.

Four Lions ***

If you think you've seen a film with a risky storyline, then you're about to have that smashed when you watch this. Based on four guys wanting to be suicide bombers in order to reach heaven, we follow their journey through the tough consequences choosing this lifestyle, as well as their stupid mistakes of course!

It's a really silly movie, that's all there is to it. The comedy is quite entertaining, if not a little too tongue in cheek as you know you really shouldn't be laughing at someone getting blown up accidentally, but you do! It's definitely for the ones who don't take life too seriously, and want to be genuinely amused by something that's a little different.

Christopher Morris who directed this film has always been associated with these quirky ideas for entertainment and this is no different. His direction to the film is done very well also. It varies between point of view shots, to dutch angles, to video camera style filming. This makes it really interesting to keep focus on if you're into the whole cinematography thing.

It just lacks something and I can't quite tell what. The storyline seems to go nowhere really. It has the potential to be something big with different locations and scenarios, but it almost gets repetitive until the very few scenes of the film. But even once they're done you're stuck in limbo as there is then a montage of images that seem to take away the whole point of the ending. But nevertheless, it does keep a constant stream of humour running throughout, so if that's good enough for you, you'll probably enjoy it.

It is a British film as well which I hold dear to my heart. You see all the unappealing locations often pushed aside in mainstream film, and we've got the unexpected cockney character Ed (Benedict Cumberbatch) which provides another dimension to the humour. Riz Ahmed (Omar) plays his part really well as the leader of this unconventional group that plays focus to the film. And the other two characters playing the, errm, less than intelligent bombers add to the sadistic theme running throughout.

So, go in with an open mind and expect to be shocked but don't go in with your hopes up because more than likely, they won't be fulfilled.

My first YouTube Video Blog!

Hello again,

I just thought I'd let you know I've uploaded my first YouTube video for The Film Obsession channel.

Take a look at the link below and subscribe to the channel:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJQbyBM16a4

Thanks,
Kelly Alyse x

What I'm getting up to...

I know I don't usually do blogs like this, but I thought you might like to know as you are my lovely readers and may wonder what's gwanin' in my life right now...

I've just finished doing reviews for ThreeWeeks covering The Brighton Fringe Festival which was really fun. Some of the shows were absolutely bizarre but brilliant; Brighton's such a cool place to be. If you wanted, they're all on the ThreeWeeks website so you can give 'em a look. They're mainly comedy and visual art reviews, but I did a couple of jazz music reviews too. I felt a bit like Howard Moon sitting in the audience for that stuff.

As you might of seen from the link at the side, I'm going to start doing a video blog on YouTube. Still all to do with film, I'm gonna do 1 minute film reviews on the blogs I post on here just to mix it up a bit. I don't know how successful they'll be but it's worth a shot, right?!

I've almost finished my first year of University too which is kinda scary... It's gone so quickly, and seems to be a bit of an alcohol related blur. But I have done some awesome things and met some really great friends so it's been a really great experience.

Over the summer I'll probably just be writing and talking about more films, working at HMV and maybe actually getting a tan in the British sun if that's possible. My legs are so white the Snow Queen would be jealous right now.

Anywho, that's what I'm doing. Keep a look out for the YouTube page. The first blog should be coming to you verrry soon. Thanks so much for reading all this time. It's something I love doing and to share it with you guys is just a lovely thing.

Bye for now,
Kelly Alyse.

Films over the summer of 2010...

So, this year there seems to be a lot of hype around film releases which is really good in one way, and totally baffling in another. You always see trailers at the cinema and sometimes they just seem to merge into one. So I'm going to tell you what films I think you should be looking out for. But if you don't like them when you go and see them, don't blame me, blame the makers!

Toy Story 3 is an obvious one; lets just get that over and done with. It's been over 10 years since we've seen our good friends Woody and Buzz, so this release is bound to be a huge box office hit. I'm really hoping they've kept the humour and real magic this film seemed to create when it first came to our screens. There's a sense of originality about this Pixar that the others just can't seem to capture. Being released on 23rd July, make sure you've got your ticket.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is a film I'm just waiting on the edge of my seat to see. I know it's not to everyone's taste and they are exceptionally bad films in terms of the incredibly obvious sexual tension and the kiddy audience they attract, but there's something about this whole Twilight obsession that's got me hooked... Maybe there's subliminal messaging going on. Anyhow, on 9th July I will be reunited with Jacob, and so will all those lovely little girls in love with these characters.

The A Team is a weird one for me. I know nothing about the series apart from the fact that Mr. T wears a lot of gold jewellery from countless fancy dress party costume. A promising cast including Liam Neeson, Jessica Biel and Bradley Cooper, this film seems as if it's going to be a funny action movie. 30th July... Be there fool!

Inception: "In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a single idea within one's mind can be the most dangerous weapon or the most valuable asset" (www.imdb.com) - If that doesn't catch your attention then maybe the fact that my favourite actor at the moment Leonardo DiCaprio is in it will! Probably just another lost film about how the world is in caos, on the 16th July I'll surely be at the cinema to see this, even if it is just to see how good DiCaprio is.

The Expendables is possibly one of the biggest films this summer in terms of the stars it has in it. Stallone, Statham, Li, Willis, Schwarzenegger and Rourke... Seriously, the cinema is gonna be so filled with testosterone on 20th August.

Get Him To Greek looks as if it's going to be another film about how crazy and sex driven Russell Brand is, and who doesn't want that?! With good old Jonah Hill playing the poor victim needing to get Aldous Snow (Brand) back to L.A. in 3 days, hopefully we'll see silly scenes of drinking and drug related activities all leading to the eventual story becoming more and more wild as the days go on. 4th June is when this beautiful man comes back on our screens... And Russell Brand.

Scott Prilgrim vs. The World on the 6th August has come at the perfect time with Kick Ass bringing in a new interest to quirky comic books. About the unlikely hero Scott (Michael Cera) defeating his love's 7 ex-partners to be with her, this film is sure to be silly, make you laugh and be full of those indie type effects that make films so much more appealing.

Killers looks like it is going to get a lot of hype as it stars everyone's favourite Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl playing the unlikely couple wanting to be assisnated by their neighbours. It's going to be a bit of a commercial, money pulling film but I'm sure will be entertaining enough for a couple of hours - That's out on the 16th June.

So, I hope that's set you up for all those summery days stuck inside because of rain. There are some big films coming out this month including Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (28th May), Sex and the City 2 (27th May) and Robin Hood (14th May) but I figured you had already seen a lot of trailers for them.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Hot Tub Time Machine ***

"Hot Tub Time Machine" - There's a phrase you probably never thought would be put into Hollywood production. It isn't taken seriously so don't think it's going to be painful to sit through. It works off this ridiculous idea with silly entertaining humour running throughout making it quite a fun film to sit and laugh at.

It's a buddy movie involving 4 guys who are living a life that actually could be made a lot better. When their long lost friend Lou (Rob Corddry) supposedly attempts to commit suicide whilst drunk and needs companions to support him, his two friends Nick (Craig Robinson) and Adam (John Cusack), along with Adam's nephew Jacob (Clark Duke) run to the rescue by taking him to their favourite holiday spot from the 80s. But it is now rundown leaving them very disappointed... Until they find the HOT TUB TIME MACHINE!

Yes, this seems like a stupid idea but the film realises that. It has lighthearted humour, sarcastic one liners and references to the 80s that make you laugh constantly throughout. As long as you don't take this film as a real idea and remain quite detached from the cheese factor, it is actually a very good comedy.

The combination of the actors is an odd but fun one. Cusack remains his self in the so bad it's good acting and Robinson plays the typical black guy which is brilliant to hear and see. Duke seems to be the best in terms of the believability factor in his performance (if that's even possible considering the theme of this film) and Corddry plays the necessary pervy, drunk man. Obviously these 4 are not up to the standards of The Hangover gang, but they still work off each other quite well and seem as if they had a lot of fun making this movie.

Steve Pink directed this, and when it seems most of the money went on the dodgy special effects of the time travelling it's perfectly easy to watch. The retro clothing and music to bring this film in the time period is great. And working with the humour of nobody knowing about email or texting, it's enjoyable to see the result... If not a little scary to see how dependant we are on technology nowadays.

So, if you have nothing better to do go and see this film. It feels in a couple of hours and if not anything else, should make you chuckle a little bit. Go in with a childish mind expecting to see something random, it will probably help!

A Nightmare on Elm Street **

What a creepy little critter we have here! A film based on a paedophile haunting beautiful teenager's dreams because he molested them when they were 5?! Now that is what a horror film is made of. Sadly, the acting and the general theme of the film was so cheesy you couldn't take it seriously at all. The entertainment does run solidly throughout however!

If we take this is a serious horror, it holds all the elements you'd expect; a horrible murderer, gore and a few jumpy scenes in the dark. But the fact that this is so stereotypical of the genre means it becomes more comedy than shocking. It's not necessarily a bad thing, considering you are kept wondering what line will be said next by the horrible character of Freddy Krueger (played by Jackie Earle Haley). A personal favourite of mine is a scene in which a poor girl is subject to his abuse, swimming in blood and he claims "How's that for a wet dream?" When you see the film in this light, if you interpret it as a form of easy, Hollywood mainstream entertainment it's perfect!

The cinematography isn't anything to blow you away. It just steadily moves you on whilst holding quite a shocking theme running throughout - That being the killer favours children. And because this is a running feature, the kids playing their roles are genuinely quite creepy. But this is by no means a classic in terms of horrors, the original is. However, the dream sequences were done very well. You really believed they were dreaming with the switching of settings and mise-en-scene.

I do have to mention, the acting is pretty awful. They were cast on looks, not acting ability. You're never moved by their comments or feel any connection to them whatsoever. And this goes for the whole film in general. Nothing really comes across as shocking apart from the idea of it. And as for Freddy, he's more of a comedian than anything else with his exaggerated voice, claw like movements and sexual advances. (Please don't slash me in my sleep)

Anyone who dislikes remakes will not like this. It has beautiful teens running from a scary man. Overall, see it if you want something a little stupid and nothing too thought provoking. It's not very scary, you just have to take it as laugh.

P.s. I LOVED this film because its a proper silly horror, but it's not a good film at all.