"You hope, and you dream, but you never believe something is going to happen to you.. not like it does in the movies.."

This post will focus on a massive part of my life - Films. Yes, everyone loves a good film. You can quote them and people will be like "Hey, isn't that from (Star Wars)" or re-create a scene in a parodical sense, e.g. like people used to do in Secondary School if someone was running, they would shout the infamous "Run Forrest, Ruuuuuuun!". I found it funny and at that point I hadn't even watched Forrest Gump. Anyway.. as a Film student and Blockbuster employee, it is my DUTY to watch films, and I wouldn't be able to function without doing so. Obviously, during term-time when there's lots of work to be done, and not as much time to use my ten free rentals (sue me), my chances of watching films is slightly effected - ALAS, what freedom was to come during this summer with (basically) 4 months off University!

This post summarises the films (that I remember) I have watched over this summer. Some of these I have seen before, but it is on this time round that I decided to, well, not review them, but give them my rating and a few lines of comments about them. As my blog concentrates on the amazing summer I've had, I'll also try and involve some context to when/how/who with/where the film was watched in conjuction with the overall theme of summer! Gosh.. I feel as if I'm writing a bloody assignment.. isn't this meant to feel fun..? I mean, "Conjunction"? I never use that in conversation...

Anyway..

A Long Time Ago.. In A Galaxy Far, Far Away...

Shutter Island - 10/10

I can't go through this post without mentioning one of my favourite films of all time, that being 'Shutter Island' directed by Martin Scorsese and starring my (new!) favourite actor, Leonardo Di Caprio. I watched the film originally in March or so when it came out (well I actually saw it twice at the cinema) but I've watched it a few more times during the summer as it was released - meaning I've watched it about 5 times now! That may make me sound obsessed (I partly am to be honest), but I thought it was an excellent film. Before we first saw the film, the trailer was repeatedly played at the cinema, meaning that others and myself had an idea of what the 'twist' would be. Obviously, after watching the film on the second/third etc running, you know what the twist is, but it definitely didn't affect my enjoyment of the film - if anything it made it better! So it annoys me when I've heard people say "I don't want to watch it, it's obvious what happens from the trailer" - In that case, does that mean you wouldn't watch 'Titanic'? Fools. If you haven't seen it, I recommend you do. Leo Di Caprio is very convincing and his performance in 'Shutter Island' persuaded me to watch more of his films, as you'll see there's many in my 20 of the summer!

Inception - 10/10

Yeah, this is an obvious choice. You couldn't go through this summer without hearing of 'Inception' (and if you have, then well done). It was the most talked about film of the summer - bar possibly Toy Story 3 - and for good reason. I won't go much into the story, as it really is a film you have to see to appreciate just how good it really is. All I will say is that Christopher Nolan has a fantastic imagination and the idea of being able to enter into dreams of other people and influence them.. just awesome basically. Again, Leonardo Di Caprio, bravo. Now I just want a spinning top. Also, a sign of a good film is that you want to see it again - I've watched 'Inception' 3 times so far. The only other film I've seen 3 times at the cinema was Star Wars : Revenge of the Sith. I'm cool...

Oh yeah, interesting note - the 3rd time I watched it, at the end the crowd all went "oooooo" which hadn't happened in either of the other times. It made me laugh. Getting stranded in Bath afterwards didn't make me laugh though - Sorry Emma! But thankfully Chris Hutchinson was on board to save us :-)

The Beach - 9/10

Ok, you're probably getting bored of my love for Leonardo Di Caprio now, as that's 3/3 films I've mentioned with him as the star. The reason why it's in this list is because I hadn't seen the film before this summer. I had heard it was decent, but I was pleasantly surprised with it. Towards the end it seemed to lose it's way a bit in my opinion, but I loved the first hour and a half or so. I think it was more to do with the location and the story of finding a 'secret' island that made the film so appealing to me - and the beach they shot it on looks incredible. So good infact that I really want to visit the place, apparently it's in Thailand. One note as well - I really liked the soundtrack, even if it was a bit odd at some points and didn't quite fit into what was happening on screen. We watched this film at Chateau Hutchinson, not long after getting back from holiday in Bodrum.

Cemetery Junction - 8/10

I'm a massive Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant fan, so I was always looking forward to seeing this film, especially when I heard that Stephen Merchant was co-directing it (as I thought Ricky Gervais films - Ghost Town and Invention of Lying - weren't that funny). I saw the film at the cinema in April or so, but again, when it came out I decided to watch it again and found it better and funnier than before. Well-acted too!

"You're not a crafty butcher are ye'?"

"What does that mean?"
"You like you meat delivered round the back."

Toy Story 3 - 8/10

Toy Story is something that most of us have grown up with, but as it's been so long since Toy Story 2, it was weird to hear they were releasing a third. I wondered whether I would like it, as obviously I'd grown up a lot since the second one (I'd like to think), therefore would I be interested in watching a kids film? Well, in fairness, they are films for children, but they are also directed in part to adults, and I felt this way about the third one. I enjoyed it, and there were a couple of pretty funny jokes/moments that made me LOL. It did have a very sad last scene or so, although just as I was feeling the sadness, Ryan (who was sat next to me) whispered something inappropriate and rude which kind of ruined the moment. Although looking back, it was sort of funny...

Date Night - 6/10

Yeah, this film looked shit. Look at the front cover, or the plot for example, and it sounds absolutely pants. However, the cast is what attracted me to the film: Steve Carell and Tina Fey, not to mention cameo's from James Franco (Spiderman!) Mila Kunis (Family Guy!) Mark Ruffalo (SHUTTER ISLAND!!!!!) and more! I find Steve Carell hilarious in 'The Office US' so thought I'd give it a go. It was alright, it's a pretty silly film but if you switch your brain off it's quite enjoyable. There was one particular bit that hade me laughing loads as it was very 'Michael-Scott-esque'. He attempts to hide from the police and puts on a funny voice (What am I like 5 or something?!) and says "Hey.. I'll be down in a minute, I'm just having sex" to which Mark Wahlberg's character replies "What the hell was that? Fat Alpert or something?" and he replies "I-I.. have no idea I'm sorry".

You had to be there... or at least watch it - please.

Fight Club - 6/10

Yeah I'm sorry. I imagine my 'rating' for this one will annoy a few people, but I really didn't think it was that good. I guessed the twist quite early on but that isn't why I didn't particularly enjoy it. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just wasn't really that interested in the story. It might've been because we (Paul, Chris and myself) were watching it at like 1am or so and I was getting a little tired, and it's a ridiculously long film! Saying all that though, I've kept it with a relatively adequate score because I thought Brad Pitt (as usual) was brilliant. He kept me interested... (in a not gay way).

The Prestige - 7/10

Again, I'll probably annoy a few people with this score. This is a film that people kept going on about and telling me to watch (namely Paul and Zurain). It was alright, I think to get a fair opinion I need to watch it again. Not much else I can really say on it to be honest. I guess that a film starring David Bowie and Scarlett Johansson is always going to keep me glued to the screen. Chris and myself watched it, and for the first few minutes we were talking, then realised the film has been on a while and we had no idea what was going on. It really is a film you need to concentrate on.. shame Scarlett isn't in it 'til a bit later on..

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - 4/10

Might be being harsh, but I didn't much like this film. We watched it round my house on one of our 'film days', after I'd read some good reviews of it and Ian had recommended the book. I think one of the main reasons why I didn't enjoy it was the two rape scenes. Yes, it'd be weird to enjoy a rape scene, but these were hard to watch - and I've seen 'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer'. The story was alright but I didn't think it was anything different to the usual plotlines you get in the standard 'killer on the loose oh wait it was him all the time ahhh'. Apparently they're remaking an 'English' version of it starring Daniel Craig. There's another reason not to watch it right there!

In Bruges - 9/10

Colin Farrell is, I think it's fair to say, unliked by most people. However, I thought he was excellent in 'In Bruges', which was a brilliant film. I had seen it before and thought I'd introduce Chris to it. I had forgotten how funny it actually was - "One gay beer for my gay friend, one normal beer for me because I am normal." Another reason for which I give 'In Bruges' such a high rating is for the performance of Ralph Fiennes, who, in my opinion, was brilliant as 'Harry'. In the films I have seen him in, he is fantastically versatile, and he plays the 'Londoner-Thug-Boss' role spot on. He is a possible contender for Leo's crown of being my favourite actor!

[Rec]2 - 10/10

If you're a horror-film fan, you've got to watch the [Rec] films. They're awesome, and the second is just as nail-bitingly suspenseful as the first - though this time there's more to it with army men, priests, demon possession and a freaky, fast little zombie fella. A lot of people complain about handheld camera's and moan about it being annoying - I think it adds a sense of realism. And I bloody love it. Scary as hell, you've got to watch it. And it isn't very long - 80 minutes or so? The ending was, although sick, a bit unexpected and sets itself up cleverly for another..

Snatch - 9/10

It's taken me ages, and a lot of convincing from Chris and others, to watch this film. I didn't really see myself as a fan of 'gangster' films, and there wasn't much about 'Snatch' that made me want to watch it, but I'm so glad I did. Firstly, I've got to mention Brad Pitt's performance once again, because I thought he was incredible, playing a 'pikey' - "Do you like degs?". His Irish accent was perfect, and illustrated his acting ability. Vinnie Jones was impressive in his role as 'Bullet Tooth Tony' with a few corking lines - Avi: "Should I call you Bullet? Tooth?" Bullet Tooth Tony: "You can call me Susan if it makes you happy."
However, I've got to say that the trio of Tyrone, Vinny and Sol that had me laughing the most. I had expected 'Snatch' to be a grimy, violent drama - I had no idea that I'd be laughing so much. Yeah, it was a bit grimy, pretty violent, but it was all good!

Best bit:
[Tyrone just backed into Franky Four Fingers' van]
Tyrone: I didn't see it there.
Vinny: It's a four ton truck, Tyrone. Its not as if it's a bag of fucking peanuts, is it?
Tyrone: It was a funny angle.
[All three turn and look back at the truck]
Vinny: It's behind you Tyrone. Whenever you reverse, things come from behind you.

HAHA!

Scott Pilgrim Vs The World - 7.5/10

Yes, I just pulled out the ".5" into the scoring, sue me. It's because I couldn't decide (obviously) whether it deserved to be in the 8's for being great, or the 7's for being good. Right from the beginning, with the introduction of the 'Universal' signature being transformed into Nintendo-style graphics and sound, I was hooked and humoured. The film was wacky and fun, and pretty different too. There were plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, and the fight scenes were great - even if the novelty did begin to wear out a bit after a while. The soundtrack was really good - I found myself wanting to own the album. One little problem for me though - Michael Cera. Erggh. Something about the guy just annoys me, I think it's his whiny little voice. He played his part well though! Whilst on the subject, the character of Ramona is played by the girl who was in Die Hard 4, Final Destination 3 and The Ring 2! Random eh?!

Youth in Revolt - 3/10

This film has the award of being the worst film I've seen this summer. It was crap. Empire let me down, they gave it four stars and called it "A mixture of Superbad and Fight Club". I hadn't seen 'Fight Club' at this point, so my expectations were high. Michael Cera (sigh) was the main character in 'Youth in Revolt', so that's already one reason why I might not like it. The film was funny, for about 3 minutes, and they were the first 3 minutes so I actually thought it was going to be good. But nah, not really. I wouldn't recommend it! Ray Liotta makes an appearance though!

[Rec] - 9/10

One of the best horror films I've ever seen, and would I be going too far to say it's the best I've ever seen? At the moment, I can't think of one to compare to it in terms of suspense, fear and creepyness. I had already seen the film before, but we decided to watch it one night round Chris Hutchinson's house as a group - it was Chris, Ryan, Rob, Tellie, Emma and myself. The fear in the room was intense! I think I would say that the final scene (or at least the first time I saw it) is the scariest scene of a film I have ever seen - and I've watched 'The Hottie and the Nottie'!!! Awesome film, however, one problem that it causes to some people is that it is subtitled. Yes, it's in Spanish, but bear this in mind. When I think back onto '[Rec]' and on specific scenes, I don't think of it being in Spanish. I usually forget to mention that it is infact a Spanish film. Now that's a good sign of a film isn't it? Or at least that it doesn't cause any problems. After all, it's not directly dialogue based. More 'OH MY GOD IT'S A ZOMBIE!'. Or should I say "Oh Dios mío es un zombie!"

DIABLO!

Snow White: A Tale of Terror - 5/10

Ha! Chris, Rob, Steve and myself were round Rob & Steve's house earlier on in the summer, in the view to watch a film. They have loads of films at their house and ones me and Chris have never seen. This usually causes a problem though, as the four of us can't decide on one. It took us about 45 minutes choose one, and I got my way in the end. I couldn't not watch it, the idea of having an updated, more horror-like version of Snow White sounded amazing! It was alright, quite funny at parts, and was interesting seing Sigourney Weaver in the role of the evil Witch/Queen. One negative though - the seven dwarfs WERE NOT DWARFS. ONE was a dwarf, the rest were just odd looking men. Oh and Snow White fell in love with one. But yeah, they were just seven men, and I think one tried to rape Snow White. Maybe that was grumpy? Or maybe a new one, aptly named 'Rapey'?

Chloe - 5/10

This was one I got from Blockbuster after seeing many customers rent it out. Ian Chilcott had seen it and said it was rubbish - I should've taken his word for it. But at the same time, he didn't go into it much, and it certainly wasn't what I was expecting. I mean, it's not every day you see Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried 'lezzing it up'.. is it? I was surprised, especially for a 15. The plot was what made me watch it, it didn't hint towards any sort of love-triangle. There were a few good twists however, so all-in-all, it wasn't too bad actually. Just a bit weird :-/

Pulp Fiction - 9/10

Back to Paul's garage for this one! It was another late night after the pub, and Paul suggested watching a film round his house. Chris and myself went round, and again, it took us ages to decide on a film to watch. We chose a selection of three then tossed a coin to decide (how on earth did that work? Three-sided coin?!). We ended up getting 'Donnie Darko'. Paul put the DVD, it started, then Chris and I decided we didn't want to watch it. Paul went and got another selection of DVDs and 'Pulp Fiction' was one. I suggested we watch it, as Chris hadn't seen it. It's a brilliant film, I've watched it a few times and I think my opinion of it has grown with every viewing. One thing I would say though - After Bruce Willis (Butch) leaves and that 'story' is over, I lost interest in the film for a bit. It's the 'Mr Wolf' scene that I feel really slows the film down. Although, I do like the line he uses : "That's thirty minutes away. I'll be there in ten."

Kick-Ass - 7/10

Overhyped. Yeah, I thought it was really cool, but I think some people went a bit overboard about it and that's probably why I didn't enjoy it as much as others. One of my friends said it was "the new Pulp Fiction". To be honest, I can't see any similarities but there you go! I did find it fun, although by the end I was a bit disinterested - although it was interesting to see that Tamer Hassan was in it very quickly (I recognized him from a few Danny Dyer films. Sorry.). The little girl saying CUNextTuesday was pretty funny, I thought she was a great little actor. It was a bit of a shame that Nicholas Cage's character had to die though, I think that's what ruined the film a bit for me. And that's me ruining the film for you if you haven't watched it yet... sorry.

Adventureland - Sleep/10.

This film was... I do not know. We began watching it when it Devon. It was Chris, Ian, Ryan, Joe, Sarah-Jane, Emma and myself watching one night, although we only got twenty minutes in on the first go. For the twenty minutes I did see, I didn't particularly enjoy. I think it's because I was expecting it to be a silly, LOL-worthy comedy and indeed it was not. It seemed to be more of a Rom-Com, and because of my stance on the film with twenty minutes gone, I suggested we do something else. We had drinks, we had a board game... it felt like a better idea than watching the rest of the film. And I'd like to think the right decision was made, Articulate was quality. The next day, whilst I was catching up on some much needed sleep, the others - bar Emma - finished watching 'Adventureland'. Most of them seemed to think it was actually pretty good, but apparently Sarah-Jane said it was very predictable. Then again, what isn't to her?!

And that's it for now. I watched more films than that but I'm pretty sure you're bored of reading all that. However, before I finish this post, I must give the LOST finale a mention, as well as Twin Peaks.

LOST FINALE

It was a sad day. The last time I would ever watch a new episode of Lost. It's the only TV series I have watched religiously over the years, and the fact that it's now over is very sad. There was a lot of uproar over the ending to the show - a Facebook group was made displaying disgust at it. To be fair, when I was first watching the end, I was thinking "What the hell!?" - but that's in annoyance, not my usual "What the hell?!" to the amazing twists etc in Lost. However, after talking to Paul he explained why it was actually a good ending, and I've watched it a couple more times now and think it's most good. Most good. I look forward to watching THE WHOLE SERIES THROUGH sometime soon :-D

Twin Peaks

Ok, for everyone who has seen this series, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to actually find out about it and watch it. For anyone who hasn't, I highly recommend it. Although it might only just squeeze into being part of my 'Summer', I have recently started watching it, and already I know that it is a series I will forever enjoy. It's mysterious, funny, weird, scary and clever. Backward-talking dwarfs, llamas, the log lady, cherry pie, Audrey, killer Bob, secret diaries and plank-smack-into-head-action are just part of what makes the series so enthralling and odd. Check it out, Diane.