Video of The Week: Top 10 Movie Quotes Ever

From now on, we’ll be posting a Video of The Week, every Sunday. If you’ve made a short film, that is online somewhere, and would like to be a Video of The Week, let us know…

Our first Video of The Week goes to Top 10 Movie Quotes Ever by ChannelFlip (found on Revver).

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about “Video of the Week: Top 10 Movie Quote…“, posted with vodpod

Review: How to Lose Friends & Alienate People

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, starring Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst and Megan Fox, in cinemas from 3rd October, is loosely based on the autobiographical book by Toby Young. I use the term “loosely” because it is not a carbon copy of the book and, last night, the film-makers made it clear that it was never meant to be.

Screen on the Green, Islington played host to a Preview Screening, followed by Q & A, with Toby Young, Peter Straughan (writer of the screenplay), Robert B. Weide (Director), and Stephen Woolley (Producer).

Vodpod videos no longer available.

The book is “Toby Young’s hilarious account of the five years he spent steadily working his way down the New York food chain, from glossy magazine editor to crash-test dummy for interactive sex toys. But it’s not just a collection of self-deprecating anecdotes. It’s also a seditious attack on the culture of celebrity from inside the belly of the beast. Not since Bonfire of the Vanities has the New York A-list been so mercilessly lampooned – and it all really happened!”

Now before I talk about the film, I should confess that I haven’t read the book. I have seen the one-man play, with Jack Davenport, at the Soho Theatre, but that was a few years ago, so I couldn’t remember all the details. That meant I was watching the film with a rough idea of the story line, but no in-depth knowledge. That said, it soon became apparent to me that names had been changed and the script updated, to mention current celebrities and films, but I didn’t realise the full extent of the differences. As I said at the beginning, the film is loosely based on the book. Obviously, the main character is the same (although he is called Sidney, not Toby, in the film), but some characters have been added or changed, and some events from the book have been missed out. Some names had to be changed for legal reasons.

Robert B. Weide and Stephen Woolley were keen to make it clear that they have not tried to make a copy of the book, and that a copy of the book wouldn’t work on screen. A film will never be an exact copy of a book. Well not unless it is about 6 hours long anyway. Details and events will always be missed out, and even if you did put everything in, and make a really long film, it still wouldn’t be exactly the same. Books and films, by nature, are different. Some films are closer to the books than others and this is one of those that isn’t very close to the book. I think Robert B. Weide and Stephen Woolley are right when they say that a copy of the book wouldn’t work. If the script wasn’t updated to current events, the film would seem really dated. If you are going to update the names and references than it’s already removed from the book, so it is probably better to step further away than be undecided in the middle. Anyway, I’m not going to harp on about the book, especially as I haven’t read it, but people who have read the book should be aware that if they go to the cinema, expecting to see a “true to the book” film, they may be disappointed.

Simon Pegg plays English journalist, Sidney Young, who’s struggling to make it in London, until he is offered his dream job, in New York. He accepts the job and soon realises that dreams are better than reality. The film follows his hilarious mishaps as he tries to progress his career and impress actress Sophie Maes (Megan Fox) and colleague Alison Olsen (Kirsten Dunst).

If I didn’t know that the film was based on real events, I’d say “it’s very funny, although a little unrealistic,” but as most the things actually happened, I’ll have to stick to just saying “it’s very funny”. It is very funny. It’s a romantic comedy, with the emphasis on comedy, and a must for all Simon Pegg fans. The only downside is that Simon Pegg makes his character too lovable, or may that’s just me.

Sidney Young is supposed to be incredibly arrogant at first and mellow as the mishaps add up (well that’s what happens in the play and, I believe, the book anyway), but I kinda liked him all along. He’s one of those characters that keeps screwing up, but is harmless really.

One of the first questions, asked by the audience, in the Q&A afterwards, was directed at Toby Young and asked if he really was “that arrogant,” so perhaps it was just me that didn’t find him very arrogant in the film. Toby himself was very funny and didn’t come across as at all arrogant, but apparently, he really was “that arrogant.”

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People is on general release next week and I recommend seeing it.

Last night’s event was organised by The Script Factory.

Tracey – OwnAFilmCompany.com

Review: The Dark Knight (2008)

Where should I start? I mean, I’m pretty freaking speechless. And I can’t really believe that The Dark Knight has been released and I’ve seen it. I’ve been waiting for this movie for like almost 2 years.

I’m a huge Batman fan myself, since a little kid. Seen all the movies, seen all the cartoons. Read a few comics too. I really loved Tim Burton’s vision on the Dark Knight, but pretty much hated Schumacher’s on Batman and Robin. Batman Forever is somewhere in the middle I guess.

The Dark Knight is the first Batman movie not to have “Batman” in its title. And that’s not coincidence of course; The Dark Knight is nothing short of a crime saga set in Gotham City. It begins pretty much where Batman Begins left off, with the appearance of The Joker, who at first is considered a minor threat to the mobs and to Batman but that doesn’t last much as Joker’s crimes become more deadly and twisted.

Heath Ledger stole the show. Whenever he was on screen, he was fantastic. Makes you forget how to blink. The new grungy look that they adopted for Joker works out perfectly because it emphasizes on his personality. He doesn’t care for money, power or himself. He just wants chaos. The lack of his background was also genius, making him more mysterious than ever. Ledger lost himself in the character. He is The Joker.

Another villain that appears in this (besides Scarecrow who has a cameo) is Harvey Dent/Two Face. Aaron Eckhart also plays his role impeccably as Harvey Dent, The White Knight of Gotham and finally Two Face. The scarring looks gritty and pretty gross, nothing like the stupid pink paint on Tommy Lee’s face in Batman Forever. That’s why it’s so awesome.

The plot is strong, with a few big surprises. And with an ending that should lead to a third Batman movie. Something even more different than The Dark Knight.

It’s just fantastic, others calling it “The Godfather of superhero movies”. It’s way different than anything else. The Dark Knight is an experience, the most elaborate and pretentious comic book interpretation. Brilliant.

10/10

Toth Andrei – “All My Life I’ve Been Waiting For Someone”

Buy 2 cinema tickets with your MasterCard and get 2 more Free

Mastercard are giving everyone that buys 2 Cineworld tickets between 1st September and 31st October 2008 two more. All you need to do to take advantage of this great offer, is make sure you keep the receipt from your local Cineworld cinema when you buy a minimum of two tickets. Send your receipt with the completed application form and a stamped, self addressed envelope. Full details, the application form and address to send everything to is on http://www.mastercard.com/uk/personal/en/specialoffers/cinema/index.html.

Other cheap cinema tciket offers include Orange Wednesdays and Standby Vue vouchers from Lastminute.com.

Tracey – OwnAFilmCompany.com

Review: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2

I recently saw the movie Sisterhood of Traveling Pants 2 with my best friend. I am a big fan of the Sisterhood series. This was a great sequel. The movie plot was similar to the first Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. The movie focused on the power of true friendship and how each character experienced their first year of college. This movie had a good mix of comedy and drama. Also, this movie had a great cast and great acting. I love America Ferrera and Blake Lively. I would give this movie 5 out 5 stars. I would definitely recommend this movie.

Dance Girl 21