Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

If, like me, you’re having one of those depressing days were you feel like your life is going to be long, monotonous and terribly disappointing then the remedy is to see Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. It is sickeningly heartfelt and profound but hey, I’m a sucker for Ewan McGregor! It far exceeds its poor excuse for a film title, however, I guess having a rubbish film title makes you not expect much from a film and be pleasantly surprised.

The cast is simply the best of British with the amazing Ewan McGregor and extremely underrated Emily Blunt. However, my favourite has to be Kristin Scott Thomas as her sarcasm and disregard for anybody else’s thoughts is exactly what I aspire too. The dry humour that she encapsulated with run throughout the film in a truly British way as no one else would possibly find it funny. Ewan McGregor was a far cry from his usual eloquent roles as he plays the verging on Aspergers fish enthusiast with a mundane routine lifestyle, although by the end he had (pretty much) flourished into his usual self. Emily Blunt is incredibly stylish as usual with matching spirit which McGregor’s character cannot quite grasp but together they struggle through and understand each other. I know, I want to be sick too. But trust me on this one – it is worth it!

The use of taboo and controversial topics involving the war in Afghanistan and Anglo-Arab relations it is bound to bring a tear to your eye in someway. I nearly cried multiple times, but then again I am a complete wuss and cry at pretty much anything. As I don’t want to give too much of the plot away I will leave you with this – it was tremendously juicy and I would watch it again right now. The best of British truly shone through but it was missing one thing … a big juicy kiss! I guess we can’t have it all can we.

The Hunger Games

I had anxiously awaited the release of this film as I had consumed the book in a day it was that good! This was then followed by the second instalment the next day. I could not put them down. Though this made me excited it also left the film a lot to live up to. However, when I saw the cast I was sure it was going to live up to my expectations. Jennifer Lawrence has not had a lot of acting experience but from what I’ve seen in X-men First Class I thought she was the right choice and she is exactly how I imagined Katniss to be. Just how Josh Hutcherson was just how I imagined Peeta to be. He pulled the baker’s son look off perfectly. Though I have loved Liam Hemsworth ever since seeing The Last Song, I’m afraid he didn’t quite pull Gale off for me. This may be hindered by the fact that I prefer Peeta in the book anyway. As always Stanley Tucci was amazing with his crazy hair and massive teeth! Overall, the casting was pretty amazing and made the film work well, especially casting for those in the Capitol.

Though some parts were different to how they were in the book, it didn’t take anything away from the film or the plot in general. Everything was done with flare and wasn’t brought down to attract the younger audience. The choice of setting and clothing for the districts and the Capitol were brilliant as it showed the true divide between them and the choice of camera angles and sound gave it the rough and confused sense that was needed. Though it was quite long I think it was needed to add all the necessary detail and you didn’t notice the length at all because it was so enjoyable.

I cannot wait for the next instalment which I hope won’t take too long to arrive as the books have left me wanting more. I would definitely recommend it to lovers of the books and people who don’t even know the story at all! It is gripping and trust me, this isn’t another twilight. This one is absolutely juicy.

Project X

I wasn’t expecting much from this film and didn’t really have much time to think about it as I was planning to see The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. However, it was sold out so I went into the Project X screening – which contained one other person! This doesn’t say much for my expectations of the film. 

The beginning of the film didn’t do much to raise my hopes either. It’s slow and doesn’t remotely grab your attention with the dodgy ‘Chronicle-like’ hand held camera effect. The generic ‘parents going away and leaving the nerdy boy with minimal friends home alone for the weekend’ set up was no surprise and was a little bit annoying. The random introduction of camera owner, Dax, into the friend group seemed a tad desperate and Costa … don’t even get me going on how annoying his character is. 

However, once the party night arrived I became a bit more enthralled by the idea. As expected by 9.20pm no one had arrived and they were looking to stay the losers they were before. But then, miraculously, about 100 people all arrive at once (yes, I know very likely). This included all the popular people who never knew who he was. The next half hour was fun, funny and involved the arrival of a lot more people but the party seemed surprisingly controlled. That was until people got into the house – yet it was still fun. 

Then the ecstasy arrived. 

Things began to get less funny and a little more sinister, leaving me with an increasingly uncomfortable feeling. A window was broken, then people skate boarded off the roof, a dwarf was put in the oven, the birthday boy,Thomas, jumped off a roof, followed by chubby JB followed consequently breaking his fingers,  the car was driven into the pool and a man with a flamethrower arrived.

So overall I enjoyed the film but it became a bit confused about what it was trying to achieve and left me feeling a bit uncomfortable which is unfortunate as it could have been so much more. I wouldn’t go out my way to watch it but if you get the chance to you might as well. This film was not quite ripe.

The Iron Lady

I can safely say the best films out there are produced in Britain by the UK Film Council. Of course, a film about one of the most inspirational women in British history would no doubt be enriching and totally captivating. For those who lived through her time in power it was a time for reflection and for those like me it was a time to experience the trouble she went through for the first time. What this film did well was, not only portraying her power, decisiveness and authority, but actually showing that she did have emotions and felt each death in the Falkland war, each riot, each bombing, each cut deeply but realised it was necessary if Britain was to be rebuilt. If it didn’t change the opinions of those who didn’t believe in her while she was in power, it would have definitely leant them some compassion towards her.

The casting choices were exceptional. Meryl Streep was outstanding and did our Maggie justice! Thankfully, she did not overdo the elder Maggie, who had the onset of dementia, and therefore kept her dignity. Jim Broadbent, who seems to be in every single British film, successfully portrayed the madman that grounded the PM, though he was incredibly annoying at times. As this film required, the cast was completely star studded with all of the British greats including, Olivia Colman, Richard E. Grant, Nicholas Farrell and Anthony Head.

The flashback method to illustrate the great lady as she is now and the reflect on her life was thoroughly effective and allowed us to access a personal view on very public events. These films allow repentance and a chance for forgiveness for actions some people of the public may have viewed as mistakes.

Overall, this film is very juicy and every Brit should most definitely see it out of patriotic, moral duty to your country. However, I have to admit I do still prefer the King’s Speech (the best film ever)!

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

A sequel is always a risky business, especially when following the epicness that is the first Sherlock Holmes. The first film had everything, an original take on a classic novel and all the specific details that come along with that originality. That was most of its appeal and therefore repeating it all again in a sequel would make it lose all its magic, surely?

Apparently not! Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was just as, if not more, exciting, innovative and surprising as its predecessor. As always I will not outline or divulge the plot as I shall leave that for you to discover when you watch the film yourself. Rather I shall outline the key elements of the film that made it good/bad. Holmes’ usual exuberant nature is multiplied as he is going slightly crazy as Watson’s wedding date gets ever closer. Their bromance is what keeps him in check and the thought of losing that bond literally drives him crazy, though he never lets on. The audience begins this film already knowing (and loving) the relationship that Watson and Holmes have, making the sequel even better in this sense. Another comical addition to the cast in this film is the one and only Stephen Fry! He plays ‘Sherly’s’ brother who is somewhat more accomplished than him in his career and the social sector. Therefore, the comedy element in this instalment is twice that of the first.

However, Guy Ritchie truly excelled himself in his choice of camera shots, angles and special effects. When Holmes and his entourage are trying to escape an onslaught of bullets, Ritchie’s choice to run the sequence in slow motion was a particularly good one. You will hold your breath while you watch it. Being able to take in every movement within that scene is breathtaking and details like this made the filming outstanding. Along with this is the usual Holmes premeditation of what will happen next, the slow motion vs fast forward movements allow you to enter Holmes’ mind with him and experience the curse of being a genius!

Overall, I really enjoyed this film and barely noticed it was over 2 hours long as I was so enthralled. Therefore, I would highly recommend going to see this film, even if you haven’t seen the first! It was 100% juicy.

Arthur Christmas

Seeing as this is basically the only Christmas film out this year (which I am thoroughly disappointed about!) I felt obliged to watch Arthur Christmas. On walking into the screen I was rather sceptical about the large percentage of children in the audience. However, as the Aardman logo appeared on the screen I felt a comforting feeling as I realised this film was going to be good!

James McAvoy, being a favourite of mine, was another great pull for me. Along with other favourites, Bill Nighy, Jim Broadbent and Hugh Laurie promises the film to be very funny. However, I cannot vouch that everyone will find this film hilarious, as I found myself laughing out loud on my own at many points, to my own great embarrassment. Personally, I reckon Arthur Christmas achieves what every children’s film tries to do by adding in many jokes for parents while keeping it PC enough for kids.

Also, the many details that the makers thought about was quite incredible and pleasantly surprised me, though I am a sucker for attention to detail. This included a machine which measured how nice each child was and gave them presents proportional to their niceness – genius!
I can safely say that this film is juicy and that it’s the best Christmas film I’ve seen in ages! Definitely worth a watch.

Hugo

A Martin Scorsese production, Hugo is a far cry from his usual adult-based clientèle as this family friendly heart-warmer is nothing like Shutter Island and Goodfellas. This new look Scorsese flick appeals to all audiences as the star-studded cast all bring different things to the plate. Ben Kingsley appeals to the mature film lover, Sacha Baron Cohen is his usual (I say this lightly) ‘funny’ self while Kickass’ Chloe Grace Moretz and, newcomer, Asa Butterfield bring the fresh-faced cuteness every children’s film needs. The fame didn’t end there as the magical cast of Harry Potter turned out with Helen McCrory, Frances de la Tour and Richard Griffiths along with Lord of the Rings star Christopher Lee. With this cast, Hugo has no chance of failure.

The out of this world feel Scorsese manages to create though it is set in 1930s Paris gives this film the important magical feel that makes it special. It almost has a fairytale ring to it as Hugo is left to fend for himself after his father is killed in a horrendous fire. He ends up working the clocks at a train station while living in its walls on his own. Therefore, the character base for this film consists of the inhabitants of the train station shops including a toy shop owner, a florist and the station inspector. The mystery of the plot, including the automaton Hugo must fix to console himself after his father’s death, is revealed in an innocent and surprising twist.

However, the audience base may be downsized by the innocence of the plot but that did not include me! I really enjoyed it though I thought it would be improved in some places. I rate this film as ripe, but not quite juicy.