Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas

Cloud Atlas was considered the book that was impossible to make into a film.  I have just sat through the film and agree with this statement.  This film jumps timelines that makes Inception look like a walk-through book for a five year old.

If you ask me what the film is about, I could guess it is about love, about friendship and about the courage to make a difference in your life for others. But that is just a guess.  The truth is this film has no clear message.

I can accept time travel and the same souls on different time levels with ease.  What I can’t accept is the terrible editing in this film that makes it hard to watch and almost impossible to enjoy.

There are  two outstanding storylines (it is about several different characters throughout time played by the same people)in the film.

The first one is a gay love story.  It is a very passionate beautiful story which I really felt for the characters.  However within the first five minutes you already know what the outcome of this story is going to be so it makes it hard to get close to the characters.

I also very much enjoyed the story in the future of a girl waitress who escapes her destiny to find another life and love outside of the hum-drum she was born into.

The trouble with this film is continuity. Why are the same actors playing different characters? What is the point of this?  It is not the same soul reborn or a love story through time - so why? It is  not clear how anyone is linked!

I consider Tom Hanks to be one of our greatest living actors.  He does not disappoint in this film but I struggle to see how he and Hally Berry are connected through time.  They just don’t seem to fit well for me and I wonder with all the other complicated story sub-plots why anyone would give this film the time of day.

The truth is this film does not deliver.  There are elements of John Carter and of Inception but both these films had what a good film needs – a story about love with characters you genuinely care about. Cloud Atlas jumps so frequently it is hard to care about any of the characters enough to follow what may happen.  It is a hugely disappointing film.

A good film needs to make money.  This is the truth of the world we live in. We want to go to the cinema to either escape our lives for a few hours or to feel something (shock, heartfelt love, heartbreak, fantasy etc).  If a film is good we will choose to go repeatedly to see it.  We will recommend it to friends and buy it on DVD.  Cloud Atlas is not one of these films!

 

 

Harry Hill - Sausage Tour

Harry Hill - Sausage time national tour.

I felt like an alien last night. I had arrived on a planet that didn’t speak my language.  I went to see Harry Hill on his sausage time tour and didn’t understand most of it.

If I were an alien visiting and Harry Hill was representing the human race, Goodness only knows what they would conclude.

Harry Hill started the show with a blue and white checked mattress being pushed into the front row and then jumping on it like a five year old. Some gags were very funny such as ‘Tim Curry, Tim rice – what is it about the name Tim that makes you think of Chinese food’  I also enjoyed the ‘You’ve been framed’ jokes .  Harry just described a few generic scenarios and then said ‘see you after the break’.  He also explained God backwards is Dog so Jesus backwards is sausages!  He was rather close to the bone to start on Muslims and their worshipping of Allah (known to Harry as Alan).  Everyone around me was laughing and even crying with laughter.  I sat there politely smiling and pretending to understand what was going on but the truth is – I had no clue!

The second half of the show descended into what I can only describe as madness.  It must have been devised on the back of paper napkin at a roadside cafe. It was total chaos and with no continuity or understanding.  I have decided that I just don’t conform to what other find funny.  There were less jokes and more slapstick humour such as a man in a leotard from Dignatas trying to smother Harry with a pillow. Or the scene where Harry tries to drink a bucket of water.  Or a huge floating sausage coming out of Harry’s mouth.

I was disappointed with the lack of any knitted characters or ‘there is only one way to find out – Fiiiggghhhhttt!’ 

Would I go to see him again?  Probably not.  But there are hundreds in my place who would so I don’t think Harry Hill will be going anywhere soon.

 

 

 

Kraftwerk ist fantastisch!!

Kraftwerk ist fantastisch!!

I had already felt like I had won a golden ticket (just like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) as Kraftwerk at the Tate tickets were ridiculously hard to get hold of.  You knew this was to be an uber cool event.  There were many angry fans who couldn’t get tickets but that just added to how special and unique this event was going to be.

We headed down to the Tate Modern and found out that people had been queuing from midday to try to get a return ticket.  (The show didn’t start til 9pm!) We knew we were lucky!

Security was very tight.  You needed your whole party with you and the card you paid with to get access to your tickets and wristbands.  However staff were friendly and excited.  Many famous people had been over the last seven gigs (including Grace Jones, Mick Hucknell and Boy George) and tonight was the final Kraftwerk gig!

It was a very civilised affair.  We were issued with cushions to sit on to wait in the turbine hall for the gig to start.  People were dressed quite smartly and I was in a minority being a woman as there was many more men than women! So much for Valentine’s Day, Kraftwerk is more important!
We all patiently waited and the time flew by chatting to fellow fans.  Kraftwerk opened by saying guten abend and launched into Tour de France.  Oh did I mention it was all in 3D!  Kraftwerk’s suits glowed in the dark and the 3D was amazing (especially for Vitamin – I felt like I was tripping on LSD as the 3D came right out the screen at me to touch).  This was no ordinary 3D but this was no ordinary band!

They did all the old favourites; The Model (which was poor graphics considering all the other amazing graphics), Autobahn had amazing cartoon like graphics, Trans Europe Express, Computer Love, Neon Lights, The Robots, Techno pop. I had known that Coldplay had sampled Computer Love but felt ashamed that I did not know Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa & the Soulsonic Force had sampled Trans Europe Express.  This show educated me.

The whole experience was one every person there will never forget.  Those lucky ‘golden ticket’ winners know they have experienced something amazing.  Kraftwerk started back in the 1970’s but still feel as fresh today as ever.  It was almost like a resurrection – what Kraftwerk had preached about 30 years ago has now come to be.  Computer Love sing about a Data Date and here we are meeting and dating strangers on the internet. How ahead of the game are they?!!

Verdict: Kraftwerk was everything I expected from them and more!  A visual feat to match the precise and clean electronic sound of music. In a word: Amazing!

 

 More photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasminestormie/sets/72157632777964619/

 

Django Unchained

Django unchained

Tarrantino never disappoints and this is also another Tarrantino classic.

The story is one of revenge.  In that respect is it very similar to Kill Bill.  But instead of a mother’s love for her child, this is a story of slavery and a man’s love for his wife.   

It is a western and yet unlike any western film you will ever see.  It is violent as you would expect a Tarrantino film to be but he excels himself with the script.  A fantastic script, as in most of his films, where people will be quoting from for years to come. 

Example one:  ‘I like the way you die, Boy’.

Example two: ‘You had my curiosity, Gentlemen. Now you have my attention!’ 

Jamie Foxx plays a slave named Django, who meets Dr Suhultz during the first scene of the film.  (Which is a great scene).  Dr Schultz is played by Christoph Waltz, who was outstanding in Inglorious Basterds as Hans Landa.  Unfortunately he plays Dr Suhultz almost the same way and his mannerisms and way he tries to talk his way out of a situation feels so much like Landa, it makes me feel that Tarrantino needs to widen his use of the actors and find a few fresh faces.  

For me, Tarrantino’s film dialogue is what makes Tarrantino stand out from the rest of the crowd.  However I need to warn those with a delicate disposition to the ‘N’ word that it is used in nearly every sentence by both black and white.  Mary Whitehouse would be turning in her grave to hear the language that is used.  However this is Tarrantino’s world and this is acceptable in his world.

Samuel L Jackson gives an absolutely outstanding performance as Stephen, an old slave who works for the Candie family, an old codger who is very loyal to Calvin Candie (played by Leonardo DiCaprio.  Boy he has come a long way since Titanic!). I enjoyed Leo’s portrayal of a rich southern man and found his accent very accurate. 

Some scenes are beautifully shot.  There is a scene in a cotton field where Dr Schultz shoots a bad guy from some distance and you see a pretty splattering of red blood on the clean white cotton.  There is another scene where some of the Candie family are walking home after a funeral, and are almost silhouetted against the evening sky. It is a very effective scene (despite it reminding me of the scene when Kill Bill’s Deadly Viper Assassination Squad are about to kill the bride!) 

The soundtrack for Tarrantino films are always very well sourced and this film is no exception. I felt the soundtrack matched the scenes perfectly.  Even the titles are thought about.  When they get to Mississippi, the title fills the screen so you know this is a significant place.  

What I love about Tarrantino films is the way he thinks about all these little things.  It works.  There are some issues with this film such as when he shoots Calvin Candie’s sister, she flies back like she is on a wire but the truth is she is at the wrong angle for her to be pulled this way.  I would question that some of the shooting would be as accurate as it appears to be.  Everyone has a bad day and must miss now and again!   

I also felt that we didn’t really connect about the motivation that Django had to save his wife. He had nothing to lose and before he meets Dr Schultz he doesn’t seem that motivated.  Tarrantino missed a point of showing how their love and life as man and wife was together before  separation may have made us understand his motivation better.  Instead all we see is a flash of his wife in a yellow dress on his way to Candieland.  His wife is most definitely seen as a minor character in the film. 

The film plot is similar to Kill Bill as I have already mentioned, but there is one scene which feels like it is totally copied from Kill Bill. The scene where The Bride (Beatrice) has just killed most of the crazy 88’s and said those who are able to leave can go – ‘But not you Sophie’.  The same thing is said when Django says all the black folks can go ‘But not you Stephen’.  

I also think that Tarrantino is a much better writer and director than he is actor.  He has a small cameo in this film which is dreadful and I truly wish he had put someone else into that role despite him only having a few lines.  

Because the film is generally excellent and because I love Tarrantino, I am prepared to overlook the small issues and say this is another fantastic film. It is not a pulp fiction or Kill Bill, but neither is it a deathproof! You don’t have to love Western films to enjoy this.

 

One final warning – it is one of Tarrantino’s longest films.  Think of it as getting more for your money!

 

 

Les Miserables

Wow. Hold on. I mean WOW!!!

Les Mis has blown me away. I have never seen the show before nor do I know the story as 1) I dislike films on history. 2) I dislike films on war. 3) I am not a fan of the French.  So this was my first experience of Les Mis. And for someone of many words, all I can say is WOW!!!

Rule number 1. Do not bother to see this film if you hate musicals. There is hardly any dialogue that isn’t sung.

Rule number 2. You are allowed to clap after a moving scene. Yes it is cinema but some of these performances deserved a standing ovation.

This is set in France during the French revolution. The first scene is amazing and better than it would ever be portrayed on a theatre set. (Which is hard for me to say as an ex-stage actress myself). But the perception it is filmed from and wetness of the sea on the men really gives it another dimension.

The outfits are great but I think have been borrowed many times by Adam Ant and Coldplay! Even the young rebel looks a bit like laddie from The lost boys.

There are so many outstanding performances to mention but I have to give my Storm award (better than an Oscar!) to Anne Hathaway who plays Fantane. She plays the role with such heart and emotion.  She is a real actress who gave her locks for her art. (They hack her hair off in a scene and she let them do it to experience it). This really works.  All the actors sing live and Anne’s big song is ‘I dreamed a dream’ which she sings with hope and despair and emotion. I can completely forgive her for her ‘One Day’ accent now (well almost).

Hugh Jackman (yes Wolverine to most of us) is another actor giving another outstanding performance.  He is the main thread of the film and again, gives the film heart.  Who knew he could sing?  Russell Crowe is his nemesis and they meet several times over the years throughout the film. They work well together with no one actually stealing a scene but complementing each other. 

Samantha Barks plays Eponine and although it is a smaller part than others, I thought she gave it her all. Amanda Seyfried from Mamma Mia fame is Cosette . Thank goodness this is the only link with Mamma Mia as I hate what they did with that film. (Using famous actors who couldn’t sing a bloody note!). The young Cosette is played by Isabelle Allen and she is outstanding in her small role. I predict a wonderful future for this young actress.

I even quite liked Sasha Baron Cohen as the Innkeeper, but his wife is played by Helene Bonham Carter and she plays it all wrong.  It is almost like she has reprised her Sweeney Todd role. Now I am not getting at Helene – Oh no she can act. Look at Lady Jane Grey or The Queen mum in the King’s Speech. She was amazing. But Tim Burton has tainted her character and now she is the person everyone calls on for a ‘quirky’ character. She belongs in Harry Potter, not Les Mis and to put on a cockney accent absolutely spoils it when Sasha is doing is best impersonation of a Frenchman. They are the light entertainment of Les Mis and do bring another dimension.

This is a long film, but so is The Hobbit and Django unchanged so maybe this is the trend to be able to tell the full story. Think of it as getting more for your money. You are not clock-watching in Les Mis. You are living and feeling their pain.

Verdict: Outstanding film version of Les Miserables. If only ‘Lincoln’ hadn’t come out at the same time this would win all the Oscars. If you love great acting and a story with heart, this is for you.

 

 

The Hobbit – an unexpected journey

The Hobbit – an unexpected journey

This is the story of Bilbo Baggins.  A hobbit who likes his home comforts.  He is rather put out when a load of dwarves turn up on his doorstep and start raiding his larder and throwing around his antique crockery. He is invited to join the dwarves quest but declines.  Of course he changes his mind or there wouldn’t be a story to tell.  This is the first part of a three film version of The Hobbit and this first film has many of the original stars of the ‘Lord of the rings’ trilogy.

Unfortunately, this film lacks impact for me.  I love Lord of the Rings films and adore The Hobbit book, but much of this film lacks a bit of character development and humour.  The actors do a sterling job but it is the script that I feel lets this film down.

I will not dwell on the negatives (well it is Christmas), but will instead offer my favourite parts.

The story of the Dwarves and how they lost their home, Erebor, was a good opener of action and I felt it fitted well for those who know Lord of the Rings films and do not know The Hobbit.

But the only outstanding scene in this film is the one with Gollum who steals the show.  He is absolutely brilliant and I loved the riddle game that he plays with Bilbo.  I love Gollum’s split personality with Smegel and how he talks to himself and how he uses the language to talk.  ‘What’s a bagginses?’  Gollum is what you call fantastic character development and not since Yoda has such a wonderful job been done.  Andy Serkis does a fantastic job (again) of Gollum and I just hope he gets recognised for the fine actor he is.

A mention should be made here for both Ian Mckellen who reprises his role of Galdalf the grey who holds the film together along with Martin Freeman as Bilbo, a newcomer to the cast but does a fantastic job of portraying the younger Bilbo (Ian Holm is still in the film as the older Bilbo).

I feel this film is like anticipating a good meal when you are really hungry. You are so looking forward to it that it just doesn’t deliver the high expectations you have built up.  I was hoping for this to be the film of the year but unfortunately I do not feel I can say that now.

As a side note, I watched this film in 3D at a Cineworld D-box.  The 3D effects are quite good. (Those of you who read my reviews regularly will know I do not love 3D as a rule). However I had expected more from the D-box but it moves a bit too gently (even on full) to work well with this film. Rather disappointing., especially considering that Pleasure Beach at Great Yarmouth has a 4D cinema which offers not only chairs that move, but water sprays, bubbles, feathers tickling you and 3D films!  I look forward to Cineworld taking the next steps!

Heaven 17 Luxury gap tour - London 3rd Nov 2012

Heaven 17 fans are going to live for a very long time!

Those of you who read my blog will know that I have already declared a love for Heaven 17.  But let me try to explain how I felt about this gig.

If you have seen the movie, love actually, you will know the story of Sarah, the American who is in love with Karl her co-worker for over two years. At the Christmas party they finally get it together and she invites him back to her house. She asks him to give her 5 mins and secretly jumps for joy behind the wall over how excited she is. Times that a few hundred times and it will give you an idea of how much I was looking forward to this gig! It was my birthday week and I had flown back from Prague the day before to see Heaven 17 do the Luxury Gap album in full.

My checklist:

·         Ensure you are in the country they are playing. (flew in from Prague especially)

·         Book a hotel so you never have to leave early to get home (no dedicated fan would catch the last bus/train home)

·         Be feisty (in my case to stop abusive women from trying to get in front of me at the gig)

·         Buy an O2 phone especially for the gig to ensure priority booking (yes I did)

Heaven 17 are under appreciated. Their talent and experience of electronic pop is outstanding and I have always considered Martyn Ware to be a musical genius. He is a founder of that sound. Heaven 17 has never been awarded the commercial success that they really deserve.  Everyone knows Temptation, but I wish they appreciated the other H17 work that only a cult few seem to get. Anyway I proudly belong to this cult and was off to enjoy an awesome gig.

The set list was always going to be great as the Luxury Gap features works such as Crushed by the wheels of industry, Let me go, We live so fast, Come live with me and Temptation.

Who’ll stop the rain is one of those under appreciated tracks, so if you don’t know it, go Google it now and see if you agree. Let me go has such powerful lyrics. ‘I walk alone and yet never say goodbye, let me go’.  Come live with me is always a crowd pleaser but when Glenn sang it straight at me I had the green eyes of every woman in the audience upon me! They don’t need to worry; I am not seventeen either.

You’ve lost that lovin’ feelin’ which was originally by the righteous brothers, was done simply with just Glenn and Martyn singing. It was beautiful and lovely to see Martyn come out from behind the keyboard.

Fascist Groove Thing really got the crowd going. Yeah baby! Mike Read should be hung for banning this track but he was one of those who ‘just don’t get H17’. I wonder if he regrets his decision today?  Penthouse and Pavement is in my top five of all-time favourite albums so anything H17 played off of it would make me happy but they did several tracks (yes I was so ecstatic my cheek bones hurt from smiling too much!) including a new version of Geisha Boys and Temple Girls and ‘we’re going to live for a very long time’. This is another moment of musical genius. How clever is this track? The lyrics and tune work beautifully together to produce irony of the sweet pop song with lyrics that can be almost evangelical. Glenn is almost ministerial in his deliverance of the song.  I’m your money should have been on the Penthouse and Pavement album and every H17 fan knows it fits that genre. 

The boys did a few early Human League songs (you should all already know that Martyn is a founder member of the band), but I hadn’t heard ‘Crow and a baby’ for years and it was wonderful to hear it again. Being Boiled is becoming an expectation at H17 gigs and they did not disappoint. Then Glenn picked up a guitar and played a version of ‘Don’t you want me’. Martyn should know the loyalty that his fans give him and believe he was the talent in Human League.

One of the most moving parts of the gig was during the encore when H17 did The Associates track, ‘Party fears two’. Glenn told the audience that he did this track a few years back at the Billy Mackenzie memorial gathering at the same venue. You could hear a pin drop as the audience were hypnotised by Glenn’s rendition of the track.

The last song of the night had to be Temptation. Leave them on a high is the motto here. Now for those reading this who like Heaven 17 and temptation but don’t know them well, here is my tip. Go listen to ‘Sunset now’. I challenge you to not love that track just as much!

But that was the end of the gig. I couldn’t believe it had finished so quickly. All the good things have to end, but for me it didn’t end there. Thank you Martyn for inviting me to the after show. Now that really did make my night! (I’m gonna need new cheekbones at this rate – haven’t stopped smiling since).

Heaven 17 have still got it and if you want to see some real 80’s legends, go see them while you can. (Luxury Gap is still touring Europe now or fingers crossed for ‘How men are’ a few years down the line.)

 

photos from this gig can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasminestormie/sets/72157631928837797/

Follow me on Twitter: @Jasminestormy