Film Review: Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World is an end of the world drama/comedy that really makes you wonder about what you would do if you had only a few weeks to live. The film stars Steve Carell and Keira Knightly who I found to unexpectedly have excellent chemistry. The film begins with Dodge (Carell) sitting in his car and hearing that the mission to save mankind from an asteroid that is going to collide with Earth has failed and in three weeks the world is going to end. With this news Dodge's wife leaves him and Dodge considers what he will do with his final days of life. He soon meets Penny (Knightley) and they embark on an adventure that will hopefully lead Dodge to find a love from his past and for Penny to see her family before their time runs out.

Thought Dodge and Penny's journey we come across a variety of characters, so many different characters that are able to give the audience someone to relate to as they wonder how they may react in a situation inwhich we known the world is going to end.

I personally enjoyed this film alot, I did not expect to enjoy it as I assumed Keira Knightly wouldn't be able to pull of a comedic role as she is normally typecast into Periodic roles (Pride and Prejudice, The Duchess, Atonement) and Steve Carell was excellent in this comedic/dramatic role which I often find he does very well. But it turns out I thought this film was great, it had some hilarious moments of comedic relief and plenty of drama, with an ending that is unpredictable and may not be expected this is a film that will make you feel warm inside :)!

This film shows you that there can be good things to come out of a bad situation.

Film Review: Festen (1998)

When a Danish family unite for their fathers 60^th birthday, drama unfolds and family secrets are revealed. The film stars Ulrich Thomsen as Christian and Thomas Bo Larsen as his brother Michael. The film was made under the Dogme act and the director was not credited. Thomas Vinterberg wrote the screenplay for this film.

I feel that Festen tries too hard at being a serious family FILM and was completely over the top and mostly laughable and hilarious. Such as the scene in which Christian is repeatedly thrown out of the hotel after a speech in which he reveals one of his families secrets.

It's no secret to the people of my film studies class that I did not enjoy this film, maybe it's because i'm not used to these forgien new wave films and find them damn right odd.  

I shan't rate this film because I thought to poorly of it, let's just blame my growing up with big Hollywood blockbusters :)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Book review

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is about a teenage boy named Charlie who addresses a series of letters to an anonymous friend. Charlie is a sincere and sensitive character who suffers from episodes of depression. His best friend commits suicide before he starts high school and Charlie is left alone. Whilst starting over at high school he is drawn to a crowd of friends who support his individuality and love of the arts. His story contains pieces that any reader can relate to at least slightly whilst growing up. The novel touches on the themes of drugs, sex, alcohol, abuse, sexuality, family, making friends and loss but the lack of focus helps to make the story seem so realist, true and relatable.

I loved that Charlie didn’t exaggerate, he told things how they were and this is what makes them seem so real. It shows the blunt pain and effects these can have. We see him and his friends struggling with their teenage life as each friend is dealing with something different. In his new circle of friends we have Patrick who is rather funny, he’s also gay and struggles with a boy who won’t let the world know he’s gay (The book is set in 91’ where gays where not necessarily openly accepted). Patrick has to go through heartbreak and betrayal and we see him go off the edge and fall into alcohol abuse. There’s Sam who is extremely intelligent, she sees the world very differently. She’s confident and will speak up, She’s inspiring but at the same time can be cold to Charlie. Then we have Charlie who as I’ve already said is sincere and sensitive and a truly good person which makes him difficult to dislike and extremely relatable to the target audience of the book. Together the three best friends were brilliant, they made a great trio and the sadness you feel when they leave each other is huge!

Overall I thought this book was brilliant, an excellent read and extremely relatable even if you’re not going through high school but have experienced school life. I thought that the intertextuality used was great with references to different music and books of the early 90’s. Stephen Chbomsky’s writing style was excellent and the letters makes the book feel even more personal to the reader. 

10/10!!

(I also believe there is a film adaptation either out now or out later this month!)

Film Review:Just Visiting (2001)

Just Visiting is the hilarious 2001 film in which a French knight, Tybalt and his loyal companion, Andre are mistakenly sent into the future by a clumsy wizard after a spell goes wrong after the death of Tybalt’s wife to be has been tragically poisoned.

The film was directed by French director Jean-Marie Poire, this being his first non-French Hollywood film and was distributed by Hollywood Pictures. The film was released April 8^th 2001 in America making a small $4,777,007 in its opening weekend. I personally enjoyed this film as it was hilarious and fun filled and thought it was interesting to see how the characters transported from the 12^th century reacted to the 21^st century lifestyle and brought with them their hilarious habits and ways of life from the past.

This is the type of film perfect for escapism and the type of film you will find yourself watching over and over and quoting constantly. Just Visiting is a remake of the French 1993 film Les Visiteurs and was remade in English years later and the story slightly adjusted the two leads Jeno Reno and Christian Clavier remained the same whereas the supporting cast was changed to a more well-known cast of Hollywood stars such as Tara Reid, Christina Applegate and Malcolm McDowell to drawn in an audience.

 My favourite scene is when Tybalt, Andre, Julia and Hunter go to an upscale restaurant and Andre must eat on the floor as he cannot eat at the same table as his ‘master’ – Tybalt. I think this scene is extremely funny when everyone in the restaurant is confused as to what is going on and Andre is shouting thank you for the scraps Tybalt gives to him and a little old lady. The camera work is very simple sticking to common codes and conventions of the comedy fantasy genre, I particularly like that when someone from the 21^st century or Tybalt is talking to Andre we generally see him from a high angle looking down to show his status but when he meets Angelique, his love interest in the film the angles become more steady and straight when she tells him he can be free and shouldn’t have to obey his Master. The film has been critiqued as being one of the worst time travel films (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQjaYbVlUUw) but I believe it is an excellent, hilarious, light hearted film that you can just watch and not have to think too hard, just sit back and enjoy.

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