Just because it brings a smile to my face. All three of them (Rupert Grint, Emily Blunt and Bill Nighy) are great at comedy.
And this is a rather pleasant watch too! (Link em up! – How groovy is that man!)
But yeah – do that!
Tag: Films
The law of sod: Phone calls
Here is what I have learned the last two weeks.
When you are looking for a job and desperate for recruiters or job people to call you:
- The phone will ring just when left your room for a minute making a cup of tea.
- Would you however take your phone with you at all times (I admit having taken it into the bathroom) – it won’t ring.
- When you miss that most important call, the phone number of the caller in your missed-calls-list will say “UNKNOWN” so you can’t call them back!
It drives me mental at times.
Other things I have learned – job hunting takes time. It also takes time for people to get back to me, it is just the way it is and I need to get used to it.
And here is something someone told me in an email yesterday:
The more little bits of paper you push in a tube the sooner one pops out the other end.
So I will continue to push little bits of paper in the tube (god knows how many applications I have sent already, but new jobs keep popping up every day so that is a good thing right?).
It still is up and down, but when I hit a low point the phone rings, and if I actually am lucky to get the call (see above) it is a recruiter and I have hope again. At some point in time, there will be a job for me, I just need to be patient.
I am actually looking forward to New York now. I will bring my laptop to be able to check up on email but I will try to not think to much about it those days I am away. I am quite sure that seeing both James Bond and Wolverine on the same stage will somehow enable me to do that. Not sure why …
I am taking the afternoon off. Will take the bus to Chelsea, have a tea and a read, and will then watch Michael Caine’s Harry Brown. It is supposed to be one of his finest works. (And I loved him on This Morning yesterday).
May your Friday be funky.
Diary of a redundant person: Speak the Lingo, shape your day, see a film
Here are experiences from the last couple of days:
- I have spent the last couple of days fine tuning my CV. I did not think it would take me that long but it did, mostly because it is so important to put the right wording in it. And to mention exactly the experience they (future employers) want you to have.
I have uploaded it to a long list of websites and I daily sent out job applications.The more positive side – I have been called by two recruiters who have expressed some interest in my CV. That is positive isn’t it?
- My state of mind was horrible the first couple of days, but it is simply too energy consuming to just constantly be depressed about it all. So I have decided that I won’t be depressed anymore and I have tried to find some sort of rhythm in my days.
Sitting behind your computer screen all day staring at your email inbox waiting for something to come in does not do you any good. It drives you crazy.
My schedule now is:- get up at 8.30am, have breakfast and more importantly make a cup of tea – the Milky Way
- concentrate and work on job applications and CVs for a couple of hours
- shut down computer and get out of the house
- go and do something nice (a tea in a cafe, a film in the cinema, a walk in the park)
Simple, but it works. There are also a couple of museums in London that are long due to be visited. The London Transport Museum is definitely on the list for this week. I might as well take advantage of the fact that I have some time on my hands.
- I know what job to go for now. I know that I probably have a slightly better chance to get an IT project manager job, but I am more focusing on a creative project manager job simply because that’s what I really want to do. There are jobs out there to apply for, I just need to find that one employer who is willing to give me a chance.
And I don’t mind leaving London for a great job.
The cinema cheers me up. I am able to forget all about job hunting while sitting in the dark for 2 hours.
In between the long list of boring block busters I recently saw two different films that I highly recommend:
- Bright Star about the life of poet John Keats (with the always brilliant Ben Whishaw and directed by Jane (The Piano) Campion).
- An Education with the highly talented Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard in the main roles.
An Education is directed by Danish director Lone Scherfig who you might know from Italian for Beginners. I love her work. The Education has been well received, so let’s hope she gets to make more films for an international audience.
Go see them if they come to a theatre near you.
Glorious 39 premiere at the London Film Festival
Of course I booked a ticket when I saw that Glorious 39 was going to be screened at the London Film Festival. I love Stephen Poliakoff dramas (Gideon’s Daughter, The Lost Prince are great) and he always seems to be able to assemble a fantastic cast.
And Glorious 39 does have the most fantastic cast: Bill Nighy, Charley Cox, Eddie Redmayne, Juno Temple, David Tennant, Romola Garai, Julie Andrews, Christopher Lee, Hugh Bonneville just to name a few.
Trailer
Synopsis
In the gorgeous summer of 1939, Anne (Romola Garai) seems to live a gilded life – a budding young actress, she’s the adopted daughter of Tory grandee Alexander (Bill Nighy) and head-over-heels in love with Foreign Office official Lawrence (Charlie Cox). She discovers some innocent-seeming recordings of meetings – but as she begins to understand quite what her discoveries mean, a tangled web of dark secrets begins to unfurl. People who have come into contact with the recordings are threatened and even die. The innocent certainties on which her life has been based dramatically unravel and amidst a growing sense of menace and betrayal, she has to confront the bitter choice she will be forced to make.
I didn’t know this part of British history, and the whole appeasement process that has taken place. It is rather shocking to think what might have happened if things had gone differently in the UK.
The film starts out showing the happy family of Anne but soon turns into a thriller that will glue you to your seat. I felt like someone had punched me in the stomache at the end of the film, only the best films do that. I recommend you to see it (UK premiere around the 20th of November, Europe and US hopefully later) as it is a fantastic (but shocking) film. The cinematography is amazing (it is partly shot in Norfolk) and the acting outstanding.
It was also fantastic to see Bill Nighy take on a role like this (after having seen him fighting guinea pigs (G-Force) and doing the voice of a somewhat short professor with a huge nose (Astroboy) as this is what he does best. I have never seen him turn this nasty in a film before, a great and memorable performance.
As the icing on the cake, the (nearly complete) cast and director Stephen Poliakoff showed up both before and after the film to do a short round of Q&A. I had no idea this was planned but how cool to not only see Bill but also David Tennant answering questions about this film.
Did I tell you you should go and see this film? Oh I did.
A room with a view
Taken while sitting on my bed yesterday. The moon looks huge, doesn’t it?
Other short notes:
- We loved G-Force. I mean what is not to like, it’s talking guinea pigs! And mice! And a mole! And it is Bill in 3D. Apart from the slightly over the top Transformers like scene it was very enjoyable. The guinea pigs look great and I am sure children will love it.
- And we really liked The Proposal too. Ryan Reynolds is perfect for rom-coms, and there is a really cute dog in it too! One of the best rom-coms this year, together with Last Chance Harvey.
- And we found the best ice cream shop in London. Look no more, here it is : Gelato Mio. They have 3 shops, one in Notting Hill, one near Trafalgar Square and one in Holland Park. They are worth a visit, really.
- Are any of my regular readers on Facebook? Please connect!
Some Friday afternoon entertainment
All these stop motion short films make me:
1. Smile big time
2. Want to make one myself
Now there are quite a lot of them there, but I will point you to the ones I like best:
1. Her morning elegance
I love love love this film. And I also really love the song, it is called Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie, who also made the film. (More info about how they made the video here).
2. Firekites – I love how the birds fly from blackboard to blackboard.
3. Deadline which is made entirely with post-it notes!
In case you are wondering what stop-motion means: Stop motion (or frame-by-frame) is an animation technique to make a physically manipulated object appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small amounts between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames are played as a continuous sequence. (from wikipedia) Basically it is a film made of photographs.
I have actually taken the photographs for a short first stop motion video, but I have been majorly struggling with all kinds of crappy editing programs to turn it into a film. I didn’t succeed and gave up. Maybe my editing course ext week will push me in the right direction to finish it.
I have also bought a timer for my camera, as I also really want to try to make a timelapse video.
There are some unbelievably cool examples of those here and a more basic one here. It must be possible to find some interesting London-by-night spots for my camera. It is basically just setting up a tripod and have the camera take a picture every 2-3 seconds.
Enjoy your weekend!
State of Play – the movie
If you have seen the fantastic BBC miniseries of State of Play, you’ll understand that the film had quite a bit to live up to. How could they squeeze a cracking 6 hours of drama in a 2 hours film. And worse – how could they (I mean how could they!) replace a British cast with the likes of Bill (Bafta winning for his turn as editor Cameron Foster) Nighy, Kelly McDonald, James McAvoy, John Simm and David Morrisey with people like Ben Affleck, Russell Crowe and have Helen Mirren taking over the role of editor?
I went to see it with the intention not to like it, I didn’t quite succeed.
The story line is simular to the one in the miniseries, but has been adjusted to a story set in the US. It does feel cramped though, and I wondered, if I hadn’t seen the miniseries, would I actually get what it is all about.
OK, I admit it, Russel Crowe wasn’t bad as Cal McAffrey, and he worked very well with Rachel McAdam’s Della, the blog journalist turning into his assistant.
Helen Mirren’s performance felt staged and was suffering from too little screen time. Also – there was no way she was going to outclass Bill.
All in all the story was still gripping and it was entertaining enough to watch but if you liked the film just a little bit I really urge you to see the BBC miniseries, because they are so much better.
[Rating:3/5]
Double Bill: Valkyrie and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Valkyrie
The first time I saw Valkyrie was last Saturday, together with someone who appreciates the acting (amongst others) skills of Mr. Nighy as much as I do. The 11.00am screening in Devon seemed to have been exclusively reserved for us, we had a private screening!
Valkyrie is one of the best films I have seen in quite a while. It keeps you on the edge of your seat from the beginning until the very last second. It has a dream cast: Bill Nighy, Kenneth Brannagh, Tom Wilkinson, Tom Hollander, Terrence Stamp. There is a whole regiment of tremendous British talent here.
And there is Tom Cruise, and he is delivering a great performance as Gen. von Stauffenberg, the man who tried to assassinate Hitler. Bill’s Col. Olbricht hesitates at the crucial moment in the plot, and this has severe consequences. Valkyrie really makes you wonder what would have happened if they had succeeded. It’s one of those films that have you glued to your seat after it has ended. It made a big impact on me.
If you like a gripping thriller – Valkyrie is a must see. (My current Valkyrie counter: 3).
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
And then there was Underworld, which is something completely different. If you like Vampire movies, this might be something for you. If you thought Davy Jones was a baddie, wait until you see Viktor in this one. Here is one truly evil villain, the master of all Vampires, not someone to mess with. Bill plays king of the Vampires very well. Michael Sheen is delivering a solid acting performance too but the story is a bit weak. I do love the colours in the Underworld movies, the cold blue surroundings match very well with the red colour of blood. Cheers Viktor. See it if you like to watch top class actors hissing at each other, or just because Bill looks so bloody cool in a battle skirt.
And while we are at it: I have also spotted the trailer of The Boat That Rocked in the cinema for the first time. The 1st of April is approaching fast. It’s a good Bill year this year.
Have you seen any of the above films?
Brideshead Revisited – premiere Chelsea
or How not to attend a film premiere (More at Empire).
Now it wasn’t Leicester Square okay and thank goodness for that. As Leicester Square is normally packed with hundreds of people and the red carpet is really long. No this was Chelsea which posh level suited a Brideshead premiere better.
I was there in good time and found the man who was going to hand me the ticket. He was standing opposite the cinema and handed me a golden envelope. There were some policemen in front of the cinema and there were a lot of press mosquitos. I opened the enveloper, checked my ticket (front row seats – wow) and read the letter that accompanied it. Welcome to the premiere yada yada – Dress code: lounge suits.
WALL-E and a lot of fingers crossed!
The very good
First a recommendation: WALL-E. Go see it. It’s a 10/10 film. It’s clever, funny, very actual, and it’s a roboromcom! Wall-E is such a cool character that I took the bus from the cinema to Hamley’s and brought him home with me. See how much a film can say without any dialogue. Great for both children and grown ups. Go see it! Go! Go! Go!
The maybe good
On the short film front – Sunday was a day of location hunting.
122 long days before the Quantum of Solace
Seeing as this is a year without any Bill Nighy films hitting the cinema (So tough! But next year there will be five!), we have to make the best of what we do get. That is not too hard really, as in 122 days we will get Daniel Craig in the new Quantum of Solace Bond film.
It is great to see that Danish actor Jesper Christensen is returning (QOS being the follow up to Casino Royale) in this new Bond. So after running the trailer for a couple of times, and having a look at the poster, I must conclude the following:
- Awesome trailer (they will show it before Hancock (the new Will Smith anti superhero flick) which is the only reason I will go and see Hancock)
- Awesome poster. (I think this qualifies for me as the coolest Bond poster ever. Simple yet effective).
- Awesome visuals shots. (I love James walking up the hill, and also like the reference shot to Casino Royale, the one where you can see Daniel Craig half in the shade in the beginning)
- Awesome music.
- Awesome tuxedo.
- Awesome blue eyes.
- Awesome, ehrm, chest.
Yep.
Three to watch: The Waiting Room, Caramel and Gone Baby Gone
Caramel
Something as unusual as a Lebanese Rom-com. IMDB quotes it as a oriental “Sex in the City”. I wouldn’t go that far, but the 4 women who work in the hairdresser, which is the centre of the film, are as different as the SATC women, and their problems are universal. It’s a great film, it is very sweet and lovely, and there are 2 wonderful old ladies in it, and one of them, the woman called Lily, will for sure, steal your heart.
[rating:4.5/5]
It’s a very small film, but should it come to a cinema near you – go see it.
The Waiting Room
This warm hearted British rom is also not a blockbuster, but if you believe in love at first sight then you should go and see it. And if you don’t, you might after watching it. Also here lovely performances from older actors (some of the film is situated in a care home). Go see this one too.
[rating:4/5]
Gone Baby Gone
The story of this film does have some resemblance with the Madeleine McCann case which is why the release of this film got postponed for a year, and finally now it has arrived in the UK. This is one of the best films I have seen this year. I already liked Casey Affleck in the Jesse James film but in this one he has established himself as one of the most interesting American actors around. And let his brother Ben stay behind the camera, he did a great job directing this one, and to be honest, his acting skills at not something to write home about.
[rating:5/5]
Son of Rambow – review (10/10)
First – this is what the Everyman Cinema in Hampstead looks like. And this is what cinema’s should be like: fantastic chairs (2 seaters if you bring along a friend, one seaters if you don’t), some cushions, a small (close to) heart shaped table beside you, and on the table, a button to press if you want to order a drink. (Not during the film though). Pure indulgence. I can recommend a visit, should you be in London.
And Son of Rambow? Yep, this is one of my favourite films of 2008. No doubt.
[rating:10/10]
Son of Rambow
No I haven’t seen it yet, but honestly how can a film fail when you have casted fantastic actors like these. I will be very surprised if this is not going to be one of my favourite films of 2008.
Tonight I will attend a preview of it with a Q&A with director Garth Jennings after the film. Garth Jennings is one of my director heroes as he is the man who directed The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, and yes I happen to like that film a lot. And not only because of the excellent casting of Slartibartfast.
I have been banging my head for forgetting to take my copy of The Guide with me today. It would have been awesome to have his signature beside the one from Slartibartfast. I might have a go at buying a copy in my lunch time here in Notting Hill.
Son of Rambow trailer
Official site
I have seen some more films recently, and you can find them here. There haven’t been any great ones since Juno.
I know it is kind of on the low site, the writing here, but honestly there is not that much to write about. I guess today’s horoscope (do I believe that crap? No! But sometimes they are just very accurate) is very true:
You’re not sorry to be seeing the back of March. You’ve got a nagging feeling that you haven’t done your best this last month. You’re right. But you know you’ll do better in April. Think ahead, positively.
So I picked up my script yesterday, felt completely alienated from it, but will put my teeth back in it and finish it. There.
Rain from my brain
I am struck by a severe (blog) writers block (and wondering who is interested in reading all this crap shit stuff anyway), so a couple of notes and then I am off.
When I took this picture 2 days ago (without having an umbrella at hand but not minding the rain) I focussed on the reflections on the pavement, I am annoyed now that I did manage to cut off the top of the umbrella on the left.
Some words about the Oscars:
I was very pleased to see Marion Cotillard winning the Oscar for best actress. La Vie En Rose was one of the best films I have seen in 2007 and she is to blame for that. Fantastic performance.
I was also pleased to see Juno win best Screen Play. Appreciating films like Juno with an Oscar is encouraging, Juno has been made on a low budget, and it proves that it can be done: making a great film on a low budget. Have you seen it yet?
I don’t share the hype about No Country and have not seen There Will Be Blood (not in the mood for a film like that).
Some short film reviews:
- The Bucket List, even though a bit too Hollywoody in some places is wonderfully uplifting, despite the fate of it’s two main men. Jack Nicholson is funny. And, as you know, I love actors who can act with their eyebrow. Jack is a master.
- I thought Jumper was crap. Hayden Christensen doesn’t have any on screen charisma, and the story was so bad I left the cinema before it was finished. Only high point in this film is Jamie Bell.
- Be Kind Rewind. I so looked forward to this one, the trailer looked great, Jack Black is spot on for the role, and I love Mos Def. And I loved, loved, loved Michael Gondry’s The Science of Sleep. Be Kind Rewind has a great premise, and the parts where they “swede” existing films is great, but the story was messy and unfortunately I have to say that overall I didn’t like it very much.
March is going to be a train travel month. With film shoots (for work that is) planned in places like Oliver Lucas’ Shropshire (I strangely look forward to that, even though the man is a made up character in a play!) , Exeter (a visit to England’s beautiful Devon and close to south Coast at last) and Edinburgh (mmm yeah talk Scottish to me). I will try to plan the shoots in a way so I can stay over for the weekend and see bits of the country. Not the least because I desperately need a holiday as my head is on the edge of exploding.
More about this soon.
Back on Planet Earth
This is just a short post to say that I am back on Earth. I think. Travelling in space messes up your mind. But here is a short list of things I have to say today (will write proper posts soon, I promise):
- It’s day 42 today. Use it wisely. I know I will.
- It is exactly 2 years ago I set foot in London for a week of preparation for the big move a week after. In that week:
Cafe, Dick and Jane, Bill the Cat, Underworld Evolution in a London Cinema, and I learned how not to be a Londoner (this goes all much better now). - I finished my second 60 seconds action packed feature film yesterday. It has been extremely hard work and it is a miracle that we could still find things to laugh about while things were at their worst. I know you want to see it, but we can’t show it just yet – it has been entered into a competition (which will end in March) and we might send it in to some one minute film festivals too. The thing is that publishing it on the web might spoil our chances of getting into some festivals, so please be patient.
- We will soon publish the poster and some stills and a teaser trailer and write about how we have made this film on a zero budget. Stay tuned.
- Today is the first day where I don’t have to think about finishing the film. I am having the day off to catch up on my writing. I am in big trouble, I haven’t had any time to work on my feature script and it needs to be handed in latest Wednesday evening. The work I need to do on it can’t possibly be done in that short a time. So I am still very stressed and very busy to give it my best shot. The thing is that being locked up in an editing studio for a long period, I just want to get out and enjoy the lovely London weather. In stead I have to be disciplined and lock my self up in my room to write.
I have decided something, as my red laptop is lovely, it is simply too big and heavy to drag around to cafes. I want to be able to write in cafes and have my eye on a Apple Macbook. Not the least because Windows Vista is pissing me off beyond reason, and also because it’s such a beautiful designed machine, and I am sure we will be happily ever after. And Final Draft will run on it nicely.
- Films: Juno is fantastic, go see it. Definitely Maybe is OK, but don’t let the “From the makers of Love, Actually and Bridget Jones” fool you, it is far from that good.
SO expect some irregular and messy posts until somewhere after the weekend.
After next weekend my life should be back to normal. Well not too normal I hope, that would be too boring.
I hope you are all well out there.
Yo ho yo ho
You owe me your soul…
When you are reading this, we are in the cinema.
And we are watching, are you ready for this: Pirates of the Caribbean – At World’s End
And I can hear you think: What?? No!
No! No! NO! NO!! This can’t be true. Not that film again. You have seen it 15 times in the cinema already. You got the DVD! I thought we were passed this!
Yeah, well I am kind of not.
The Good Night – a rom dep and D.I.R.L: 6
OK, The Good Night
Lorenzo (owner of the now closed THE Cafe) already told me about this movie a year ago, they had shot a short sequence in his cafe. That was reason enough for me to see it. Bonus was that both Martin Freeman and Simon Pegg are in it too. Two of the funniest actors in Britain in one film. Surely that would guarantee a funny rom-com.
Surely I can be wrong about things sometimes, as this is the first Rom-Dep I have ever seen. I have never been this depressed watching a wannabe rom-com, it wasn’t funny at all and I haven’t seen any real romance either. What a crap script. What a crap movie!
And then I wonder – how the hell did it get made? Who puts money in crap like that? And than you read that it is written and directed by Jake Paltrow, which is indeed the brother of, and Gwenneth was in this film too. And I thought – shit – I wish I knew someone famous, because then I would be making my film next year.
So fully depressed I left Screen 6, and walked directly into Screen 5 where I injected myself with instant feel-goodness. Yep, find your pen and mark it up – Dan in Real Life – viewing number 6 was a fact.
I have just heard a first version of our 60 seconds film soundtrack and wow, it sounds quite cool. It needs a bit of adjusting but it is going to be a great thing to have a soundtrack tailor made for our short short.
I am in the middle of a screen writing class weekend. My script hasn’t been analyzed yet (will be tomorrow) but during the 30 minutes we had to stand outside because of a fire alarm, my tutor told me that it has moved a million miles (in the right direction) from my first version. Just hearing that is enough to keep me going with this script. That and the fact that I truly love my story.
Have a great weekend too.
Let my love open the door
I picked it up, walked to the counter to pay and suddenly realized how pathetic it must have looked. I wanted to say – this is going to be a prop for my short – it is not for Valentine’s day – but I didn’t say anything. I just paid and walked out – with my new red heart shaped bowl. It is a great prop. And the wooden man (a New Yorker who lives with me) agreed with me totally.
The silver coloured heart in the bottom has a chime inside. I bought it in a shop in Notting Hill because I really like the sound and shape, and because it might be a prop too. I didn’t buy it because I am obsessed with hearts or anything, you know me better than that.
I saw Dan in real life again today in the Chelsea cinema. I love this film so much, it’s funny and touching and I laughed a lot and cried and I think Steve Carell is so adorable in this film. The fact that I know the soundtrack inside out made it an even bigger pleasure to watch. I apologize to all other viewers for singing along in the cinema and I want a soundtrack like that if I ever get my film made.