Film Review: An Education

I think I’ve just seen the first success story of next year’s film awards season. An Education is a cracking movie that continues British’s glittering history of dramatic comedies. The world is in a rush; our young are so desperate to do interesting and fun things, make large amounts of money fast or even to become famous. An Education captures this mood perfectly through the core character Jenny (exquisitely played by newcomer Carey Mulligan), an extremely bright sixth former studying to get a place at Oxford University who becomes dramatically sidetracked by a romance with an inappropriate older man.

This really is a stellar film performed greatly by an ensemble of some fine acting talent. My notables included Alfred Molina as the lead’s father and Olivia Williams as a loyal and caring teacher. Their characters showcase the strength of forgiveness as action, one which we should aim to learn ourselves as we grow up along with the art of being selflessness. Any film that raises questions about your own behaviour, past or present, or of that of someone you know, has got to be good one in my book.

Please, go and see.

Film Review: Up

UP, the latest offering from Pixar, is in my opinion the most heartfelt and endearing film that has been made this year. It is a must see for cinema goers.

The opening 20-30 minutes of this film provide perhaps the most magical cinemania I’ve seen for a number of years. In this sequence the main character ages from a young boy to a retired balloon salesman, he meets his soul mate (a girl with a dream of adventure) has years of happiness but loses her as she passes away untimely. Personal grief or the loss of a loved one has never been so wonderfully showcased in film proving that animation can deliver the same emotional impact (if not better) as live action.

Having not yet achieved his and his departed’s lifelong dream Carl Fredricksen sets out to house-balloon himself and a young stowaway to see the famous springs of South America. Talking dogs, psycho adventures and wild-never-seen-before birds provide the candy for the legions of young film goers that have already seen the film (although thankfully I went to a later performance).  This is Disney-gold, it truly is “up” with the company’s films of yesteryear, please do go and watch.

Film Review: District 9

My summary: best film of the year, that I’ve seen anyway

Why, you say? There are many reasons so I’ll list some of them here…

• It wasn’t the film I thought it was going to be, it was better
• It is the best example of genre confusion in the history of cinema – was it an action film, social commentary etc?
• It was a big budget film that wasn’t set in the US, therefore giving the film a global consciousness. South Africa is a country with a fruitful past so it was highly suitable as its venue
• The lead male (Wikus Van De Merwe) wasn’t your normal action star and he was a mighty fine actor – he delivered the hectic edge that the film required in only his first ever film
• I love the fact that the alien’s derogatory term is “prawn”
• There is a great homage to Aliens at the end of the film, although I’m not telling you what it is
• The marketing for the film has been kick ass
• Peter Jackson was heavily involved…gold dust

Film lovers around the world please go and see District 9. It is not just another sci-fi film about aliens; it is a highly intelligent beast of a movie that innovatively touches on issues like prejudice or abuse by government registrations…issues that unfortunately continue to plague us.

R.I.P. John Hughes

Another hero from my childhood has passed away, John Hughes, the filmmaker. Growing up in the 1980s this man was a legend to me. No other filmmaker captured the 80s with more accuracy; portraying the fashion, angst and stereotypes with such detail around characters you can’t help loving. Whilst many go on about Ferris Bueller as his greatest film, personally I think you can’t go much further than The Breakfast Club for cinematic gold, a film which consistently makes my favourite films list. Thanks for the good times Mr Hughes.

Summer Reading

Here is my employer’s (Weber Shandwick) latest thought-leadership piece for your consumption. I hope you enjoy the read.