What I've been watching this June...

I'm one of those film-goers who puts a bit too much faith in the hands of film critics. If Empire says it's good, it's good, right? (as discussed in a previous post, we disagreed re. The Avengers). So when Empire gave The Five-Year Engagement a 4* review, a sign for an "excellent" film, I thought this rom-com was worth watching. 
Oh, Empire, our relationship is now on thin ice. Not to say that the film wasn't enjoyable - Emily Blunt and Jason Segel were a good match and Rhys Ifans and Mad Men's Alison Brie played their roles well also - but two hours for a rom-con is a tedious stretch. The film's plot was set up relatively quickly and successfully, but the couple's relocation to Michigan causing the not-so-soon-to-be groom to turn into a crazy hunter made up the majority of the film, losing the film's key premise; this section could have easily been cut in half and kept to the point. There were a few chuckles here and there but compared to last summer's hilarious wedding flick, Bridesmaids, this film is definitely the more low-key, understated ceremony.  


With a few more weeks to go until the big summer movies hit our screens, namely The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises, the cinema's line-up is rather stale at the moment. This film serves as an easy watch for those who don't fancy Abraham Lincoln: The Vampire Hunter (who would fancy that?) or Prometheus (which I'm still quite intrigued about), but don't make the mistake of thinking that this film will be anything better than the average romantic comedy.


6/10
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The Godfather Part I and II: that's right, from The Five-Year Engagement to The Godfather...

I'm ashamed to say that this week was the first time I had ever seen Part I and II of The Godfather trilogy, but I'm glad to say that they both lived up to my expectations. It can sometimes be a risky game attempting to watch two films that are hailed as some of the best of their time without either already deciding you're going to love it no matter what or overly critiquing it.

With both films almost reaching or surpassing the three hour mark, I didn't at all find them dragging and actually wanted Part II, which concludes around 200 minutes, to carry on for longer. Despite popular opinion, I'm inclined to say I favoured the second. I preferred Michael's journey through the Mafia than Vito's conclusion and the second part gave a wider view of their family lives; De Niro plays a big part in my decision there too.

I'll try to watch the final instalment this week with an open mind seeing as many often express their disappointment with it.

The Godfather Part I: 10/10
The Godfather Part II: 10/10
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GoodFellas


I probably shouldn't have watched GoodFellas and The Godfather in such close proximity because I couldn't help but keep comparing the two Mafia masterpieces. Having said that, I loved the music in GoodFellas and the humour gave it a lighter edge. Though not a cinema genius, there was something about Scorsese's camerawork and the frequent zooms that made the film extremely captivating and beautiful to look at. Unaware of the true story on which the film is based, the film gave me much appreciated plot turns and shocks. It definitely seemed like a film I could watch over and over again; something I'll look forward to.

9/10

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Okay, where can I get my hands on this poncho?

A Fistful of Dollars


After watching and adoring The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, I had high hopes for the 1st part of the Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy. Though perhaps not as influential as the former, the film was shorter making the plot quicker and easier to follow. Eastwood's character was just as charming but the lack of another exciting character such as Angel Eyes or Tuco was evident. The cinematography and music, remembering the fact that this was released in '63, puts many modern films to shame.

It was particularly interesting watching this followed by Kill Bill: Vol. 1 as you can really see how Tarantino has been influenced by Sergio Leone. Seeing as Kill Bill only uses music sourced from other films, I wouldn't be surprised if he had taken some scores from this film or another in the Dollars Trilogy. I am now even more intrigued to see how Tarantino will take on the western genre with Django Unchained.

8/10

On the list for the next few weeks: The Godfather Part III, Taxi Driver, A Clockwork Orange, City of God, We Need To Talk About Kevin, Death Proof and For a Few Dollars More.

A Pre-collection Convert

The speed of the fashion calendar has caught up with me once more as despite Summer 2012 not officially starting for another few days, we've already been given a glimpse of what Summer 2013 may be like with the recent pre-collections. A slight pre-collection cynic, I tend to lend them past me by in anticipation for the more exciting headline shows, but as their presence gains more and more importance, especially with them having the highest sales for many labels, I decided to embrace this in-betweeny stage and enjoy what it has to offer. With collections that show a more wearable and commercial side of a brand whilst keeping true to its aesthetic, I think I may have now become a pre-collection convert. 


Alexander McQueen - Earlier this week, McQueen's CEO announced his desire for the label to become Britain's best luxury ready-to-wear brand and this collection seems to show they're well on the way to achieving that goal. An element of the the futuristic theme seen in the Autumn/Winter show remains with silver shades, pointed shoulders and giant belt clasps whilst looking back at the '70s in flared trousers. The sharp monochromatic tailoring contrasted perfectly with an exquisitely draped orange strapless gown in the evening section, which also featured black and gold dresses varying from sleek column styles to ruffled layers.

Erdem - Quite a conservative collection from the man-of-the-moment year/last year/year before that with lengths remaining just under or over the knee and featuring high necks, tweed designs and modest shifts. Evidently though, it was enlivened with his distinctive array of bold prints; blue hues elegantly evolved into rose pinks with patchwork-like prints delivering a slightly different style to usual. A bright pink knitted jumper over a silk floral shirt paired with a large floral designed a-line skirt had to be a favourite of mine. 

Burberry Prorsum - This seems to me to be the epitome of a good pre-collection; an offering more focused on wearable, simpler pieces and workwear - tailoring itself more to Spring than to Summer with its muted palette. Acting as a transition between the last collection and the next, the high-waisted skirts and tees seemed to reflect the A/W collection whilst suggesting that Burberry's Spring Summer display will move away from cord and tweed coats towards leather and bomber jackets. The knitwear was simple and lustful, paired with tapered trousers and shorts -  a unisex pair included - and the evening wear featured sleek and elegant designs.

Jonathan Saunders - Despite a few colour combinations which weren't particularly pleasing to my eyes, Saunders' collection was reminiscent of the A/W show but its bold prints and sleeker silhouettes moved the pieces into a brighter season.

It's more of a wardrobe suggestion as opposed to a silhouette suggestion or message for the season - Jonathan Saunders

Peter Pilotto: A brand known for its psychedelic prints, this offering was no different and through more futuristic, a mastery of print clashing was seen;  for any still doubtful of this trend, look at this brand for assurance. Dress and skirt lengths were mainly short, trouser legs varied from skinny to straighter fits; but similarly to the previously discussed collections, necks were quite high and classic clean-cut shirts seem to be a must for this season - or whatever this stage is called. 

Stella McCartney: Beautifully presented on a marble floor with a glistening mirror nearby, Stella chose a softer, more pastel palette compared to the electric blues featured in March. Leopard prints appeared in oversized jackets and coats; antique floral prints began in soft yellows and transformed into rich oranges on pencil skirts and skirt suits, and checks featured on pleated skirts or trouser suits. . A cute pastel knit is worn over a buttoned up shirt (a new crisp white shirt is on the wish list)  and white tapered trousers whose extra-long lengths were slightly baffling. The latter part of the collection was slightly more demure and a 20s feel emerged with subtle fringing - the best being over a delicate white lace dress. Once again, Stella achieves the perfect balance between feminine delicacy with the exquisite tailoring giving it the edge. 

Off The Chain

The trailer for "The New Film by Tarantino", Django Unchained. Need I say more? If you haven't seen it, where have you been? Get on it.

This and The Great Gatsby, DiCaprio better win an Oscar this year.

Congrats Burberry

@Burberry reached 1 million followers on Twitter today and, being the amazing company that it is, celebrated this by replying to hundreds of fans with a personal thank you note:

Pareee

Frequenting Parisian cafés; seeing French movies; browsing in vintage stores; running along the Champs Elysées in the heaviest of downpours; strolling in the gardens of Versailes and having every Frenchman responding to your French in English...all in all a lovely few days in the French capital. Seeing as this is my only "holiday" this summer, I was not about to let the rain dampen my spirits, or my sartorial choices: 

Outside Musée de l'Orangerie

Denim jacket and trousers from a perfect vintage store. 

The perfect vintage store. 

Photos by my friend, Steph, a lover of Instagram. 

The loves of May

A little collection of what I love this month:

Cannes Film Festival: Marion Cotillard looking

 divine in Christian Dior Haute Couture.

Met Gala - January Jones looking

 incredible in Versace, as usual.  

Inglorious Basterds - Finally got round to watching

 this and loved it; particularly appreciated the lack of English in

 a Hollywood production. A new found adoration for 

Diane Kruger has begun too, especially with the

 great looks she's wearing in Cannes. 

Jubilee: Everyone's getting excited for Queenie's celebrations, including

 Mulberry with their special jubilee 

capsule collection. 

Simone Rocha - The young designer's strong 

cohesive collections of monochromatic sharp, 

modern tailoring with pops of colour and

 amazing perspex brogues prove she's making 

a name for herself with her own talent, 

not her designer father's influence.

Planet Earth Live: Heart-warming, upsetting and funny

 all at the same time. Listening to the names given to the beautiful 

babies is one of the best bits. Here's Moja and mummy.

The Great Gatsby: The trailer for Baz Luhrmann's
 upcoming adaptation landed today and it looks
 fantastic. Wasn't a fan of the original but this looks
 visually stunning. December, here we come.
Also, I'm a huge Leo lover. 

Sunshine - I have quite a split attitude towards the sun/heat
but today I very much enjoyed sitting and reading  by the lake. 

I hate The Big Bang Theory. I haven't been
watching it every day since exams started at all.
.......

:) It's my new obsession. 

Marvel Madness - The Avengers Review

I was browsing IMDb's top 250 the other day, as I do quite frequently when I'm bored, when I stumbled across what must have been a grave system malfunction...The Avengers is number 34?! Is this a joke that the movie geeks are playing on us? Thank goodness that it has moved down over recent days, I've been tracking its position, seeing as it was ranked higher than Sunset Boulevard, Memento and Forrest Gump a few days ago, but it's still apparently better than a whole array of classic films. Now, I'm not saying that the film was bad but the rave reviews that it has been garnering are, quite frankly, undeserved.

When I first saw the trailer a while ago, I thought that this action-filled, star-crammed blockbuster looked awful. A few positive reviews came in, so I decided to see the film with a more open mind. For such a big action movie, I felt it was very slow getting going, with not much happening in the first 30-45 minutes except some painstakingly long fight between Iron Man and Thor. I rarely get bored in cinemas, but if this film didn't get going, I was tempted to leave. Thankfully, the ending of the film was much better, with the speed picking up and the final action scene not being too long - thank goodness, because those eel/snake/monster things that kept crawling from the sky were starting to really irritate me. Admittedly, it was funny, with some jokes being really laugh-out-loud moments, and the concluding scenes made me see the film in a better light. However, a great film? As a 21st Century audience, do we really believe that special effects, fighting scenes, a bit of humour and some good actors make a film really special?

Let's compare this with The Dark Knight, proof that a blockbuster can be a genuinely great film. The fact that it was directed by Christopher Nolan already gives the film the upper hand, but I'll try to ignore that. The Dark Knight is filled with fantastic characters, portrayed by fantastic actors - I'm not saying the actors in Avengers aren't good, but none of them pull out a great performance. Each character in The Dark Knight is fascinating, has his/her own story but is developed enough that you don't get what you have in The Avengers. I admit I haven't seen the other Marvel films - and if this is the best one I don't think I want to - so perhaps the characters may seem better after knowing their back stories. However, this film should stand on its own two feet and quite frankly, there are just too many protagonists. A film should have a central character, a character whose fate the audience are really concerned about, but here you just have a handful of characters battling to have centre stage. I love Jeremy Renner but please tell me the point of his and Scarlett Johansson's characters.

The Dark Knight has the Joker. The Avengers has some corny exaggerated villain in Loki. There is no argument there.

Finally, The Dark Knight is full of surprises and shock moments. The love interest dies, the white knight's get half his face burnt, we think Gordon has died, we're on edge with what havoc the Joker will pull next. Most importantly, we don't know how the film is going to end. Were The Avengers ever not going to win? Were they ever not going to survive? The only slightly sentimental and unforeseen moment occurred when Coulson died, but he didn't have a strong enough personality or presence for that death to make a big impact.

I'm not saying that this film is trying to be better than The Dark Knight but the latter proves what a great superhero film entails. The Avengers is simply not that. Many people probably went to see it with their minds already made up that a superhero film with 6 superheroes must be better than with one, and therefore fail to see the slightly-better-than-average quality of this blockbuster.

In conclusion, wake up IMDb voters and get this film out of the Top 250.

Rant over.

Rating: 6/10