Friday, 29 August 2014
Richard Attenborough Tribute.
Hi everybody and welcome back.
I begin this weeks blog with the sad news of the death of Lord Richard Attenborough, who passed away at the age of 90 after recent years of ill health. A short man in stature but a giant of the film industry.He had been involved in the movie industry for 7 decades as an actor, director and producer. Some of you, especially younger readers, might not at first know of him and the legacy he leaves behind but undoubtedly without him we would not have a film industry in Britain, as he single-handedly rescued the failing BFI (British Film Industry) during the 70's and 80's with his own money and tirelessly raising funds and awareness that all the big British stars of today are a result.
Looking back at his career which began as a teenage actor in the early 1940's in "In which we serve" he then went on to appear in over thirty movies over the next two decades in which "Brighton Rock" is by far his most recognized role. In 1964 he turned his film talent and knowledge to producing, via his production company Beaver Films, with his debut film "The Angry Silence" It would of course be a natural progression into directing which he made the step up to in 1969 with "Oh! What a Lovely War" a musical about World War One and starred established British talent including the late great John Mills and the legendary actor Laurence Olivier. I shall never forget the end scene of the film as the camera pans out to reveal a field of white crosses in a field, in a time of no CGI this was remarkable as their were over fifteen thousand crosses planted in the ground, such detail is quite unbelievable, but it is a scene that brilliantly shows the futile meaning of war.It was around this time that Attenborough had a grand idea for a film that he would not be able to raise the money for for another ten years, this film of course became his biggest world wide hit, Ghandi. The film was released in 1982 and won 8 Oscars at the Academy Awards including 2 for Attenborough, best film and best director. The film also introduced the world to a relatively unknown actor in the lead role, now well known to everyone, Sir Ben Kingsley. In his later years Attenborough went onto direct and star in many more movies, one of which included "Jurassic Park" directed by Steven Spielberg in which he played, as my friend informed me "The old guy with a stick." The old guy being the pivotal character John Hammond, who had created the dinosaur island.
To end this tribute I would like to recommend you watch a selection of his films that shows his truly great talent as an actor and director. As an actor my choices would be "Brighton Rock" "The Great Escape" "The Sand Pebbles" and "10 Rillington Place" in which he plays real life serial killer John Christie quite sinisterly. As Attenborough the director I want to inform you of his films you may not have seen or at least did not realize he had directed, they are "Young Winston" a biography of Sir Winston Churchills formative years, "Magic" a creepy thriller starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, "Cry Freedom" which gave Denzel Washington his big break and lastly "Chaplin" in which Robert Downey, Jr. gave an amazing performance as Charlie Chaplin.
Away from the movies his brother is the TV personality David Attenborough, who is famous for his BBC nature programmes and he tragically lost his daughter and grand-daughter in the 2004 tsunami in Thailand.
Even though he has gone I believe his legacy will live on through his films for many years to come.
Due to the sad news I will write about TV series' being made into movies next week.
Have a great week and enjoy the movies.
Miles Dunton.
Friday, 22 August 2014
Summer releases: Hit or Miss
Hi to everyone and welcome back.
Every Summer Hollywood releases its blockbuster movies which are all highly anticipated but sometimes they don't hit the mark either in audience anticipation or, more important to the producers, box office receipts. However, I believe that this Summer the movies were generally positive. Of course the big studios invest a lot of money in marketing to get people into the multiplexes as they demand a huge return on their investment. The internet is flooded with future movie clips to build up the excitement within the film community. These days movie fanatics await these trailers with more gusto than the film itself, even sometimes going to see a movie that they are not really interested in just to catch a trailer and in some cases studios release a trailer of a future trailer! Having said that it's not only the season of big hitters there are also some small independent movies which catch the imagination of the audience unfortunately they have been few and far between this Summer probably overshadowed by the hype which surrounds the big releases.
So, which movies do I think have been seen as a success based on the movie itself and not money generated.
Lets start with "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" Having been a long time fan of the Apes franchise which started way back in 1968 with Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes" and went on to make a total of four sequels plus a short lived seventies TV series, I was very disappointed with Tim Burton's remake of the original in 2001, but the franchise was revived in 2011 with director Rupert Wyatt's re-imagining of the origin story. In that film Andy Serkis took motion capture to a whole new level playing the lead ape Caesar and in doing so raising the bar in the field that he had help to create in films such as the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy "Tintin" "The Hobbit" and "King Kong." But in this new film we have by far the best of the lot and not only do we have more apes but apes on horses. The director, Matt Reeves, and a great cast have made a movie where the audience is rooting for the apes rather than the humans. A lot of the success is once again due to the performance of Serkis who should be recognized with an Oscar for his motion capture performance. The good news is that Reeves will be directing the third in this latest franchise so things are looking bright in the Apes universe.
The Summer wouldn't be the same without a Marvel studio release and boy did we get one with the release of "Guardians of the Galaxy." Based on a comic series, which goes back to the late 60's, this was one of the least known in Marvels vast array of hero stories so it was a huge gamble for the studio but a gamble which paid off big style. This movie not only provided solid characters with a script which included adult comedy, but also special effects that were mind blowing especially when seen in an IMAX 3-D cinema. The lead actor Chris Pratt, who plays Star Lord, was a mixture of both Indiana Jones and Han Solo, and he will be a huge star in the coming years as he is also the lead in the new dinosaur reboot "Jurassic World." Being a Marvel fan I was delighted to see them create a new universe and one that has the potential to run and run.
Last but not least is "Godzilla" a film that had to succeed after the flop of the 1998 Roland Emmerich version and I believe that Brit director Gareth Edwards has pulled it off. In some reviews they are commenting on the below par performances of the actors but having said that this is not the type of film that you would expect to win a best actor award, it's the type of movie that you want to see mass destruction by larger than skyscraper monsters, and that's what we get, in abundance. If you haven't seen it you should check out Edward's first venture into movies "Monsters" well worth a look.
So there you have it my top three movies of this Summer. There are others including "Edge of Tomorrow" starring Tom Cruise "X-Men: Days of Future past" and for the kids "How To Train Your Dragon 2" but you also have failures such as "The Amazing Spider-man 2" horror "Oculus" and "The Expendables 3" which was so awful that Stallone and co. should use their zimmer frames and head off to a home for actors who have passed their sell by date.
Next week I will be exploring the TV world and looking at series' that have been made into films and if they haven't which ones should.
Have a great week and Apes rule.
Miles Dunton.
Every Summer Hollywood releases its blockbuster movies which are all highly anticipated but sometimes they don't hit the mark either in audience anticipation or, more important to the producers, box office receipts. However, I believe that this Summer the movies were generally positive. Of course the big studios invest a lot of money in marketing to get people into the multiplexes as they demand a huge return on their investment. The internet is flooded with future movie clips to build up the excitement within the film community. These days movie fanatics await these trailers with more gusto than the film itself, even sometimes going to see a movie that they are not really interested in just to catch a trailer and in some cases studios release a trailer of a future trailer! Having said that it's not only the season of big hitters there are also some small independent movies which catch the imagination of the audience unfortunately they have been few and far between this Summer probably overshadowed by the hype which surrounds the big releases.
So, which movies do I think have been seen as a success based on the movie itself and not money generated.
Lets start with "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" Having been a long time fan of the Apes franchise which started way back in 1968 with Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes" and went on to make a total of four sequels plus a short lived seventies TV series, I was very disappointed with Tim Burton's remake of the original in 2001, but the franchise was revived in 2011 with director Rupert Wyatt's re-imagining of the origin story. In that film Andy Serkis took motion capture to a whole new level playing the lead ape Caesar and in doing so raising the bar in the field that he had help to create in films such as the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy "Tintin" "The Hobbit" and "King Kong." But in this new film we have by far the best of the lot and not only do we have more apes but apes on horses. The director, Matt Reeves, and a great cast have made a movie where the audience is rooting for the apes rather than the humans. A lot of the success is once again due to the performance of Serkis who should be recognized with an Oscar for his motion capture performance. The good news is that Reeves will be directing the third in this latest franchise so things are looking bright in the Apes universe.
The Summer wouldn't be the same without a Marvel studio release and boy did we get one with the release of "Guardians of the Galaxy." Based on a comic series, which goes back to the late 60's, this was one of the least known in Marvels vast array of hero stories so it was a huge gamble for the studio but a gamble which paid off big style. This movie not only provided solid characters with a script which included adult comedy, but also special effects that were mind blowing especially when seen in an IMAX 3-D cinema. The lead actor Chris Pratt, who plays Star Lord, was a mixture of both Indiana Jones and Han Solo, and he will be a huge star in the coming years as he is also the lead in the new dinosaur reboot "Jurassic World." Being a Marvel fan I was delighted to see them create a new universe and one that has the potential to run and run.
Last but not least is "Godzilla" a film that had to succeed after the flop of the 1998 Roland Emmerich version and I believe that Brit director Gareth Edwards has pulled it off. In some reviews they are commenting on the below par performances of the actors but having said that this is not the type of film that you would expect to win a best actor award, it's the type of movie that you want to see mass destruction by larger than skyscraper monsters, and that's what we get, in abundance. If you haven't seen it you should check out Edward's first venture into movies "Monsters" well worth a look.
So there you have it my top three movies of this Summer. There are others including "Edge of Tomorrow" starring Tom Cruise "X-Men: Days of Future past" and for the kids "How To Train Your Dragon 2" but you also have failures such as "The Amazing Spider-man 2" horror "Oculus" and "The Expendables 3" which was so awful that Stallone and co. should use their zimmer frames and head off to a home for actors who have passed their sell by date.
Next week I will be exploring the TV world and looking at series' that have been made into films and if they haven't which ones should.
Have a great week and Apes rule.
Miles Dunton.
Friday, 15 August 2014
Movie views 15th August 2014
Hi to all and welcome.
This is the first of what I hope to be of many weekly blogs concerning my thoughts on all aspects of the world of movies.
I have been a movie fan for around 40 years and have never lost that feeling of excitement that I get every time I go to the cinema to see a new release, whether it be a hit or a miss, it is the buzz of being taken away to a different place and time for around two hours. I remember the first film I saw at the cinema "Half a Sixpence" released in 1967 and starring Tommy Steele right up to this months "Guardians of the Galaxy" the latest from Marvel, and thousands in between. Thousands which include all genre of film of which I would have to say that action and adventure are my preferred choice and musicals my least favourite. Movies are being released thick and fast these days and it is hard to keep up with all that's going on but in this blog I will attempt to give my views on all movie news. I do not work in the film industry so I am only writing as a fan and would appreciate any feedback you can give and would love to hear your views on any of my opinions whether you agree or disagree.
I am often asked what is my favourite movie but this is a question that I find very difficult to answer as there are so many to choose from, so what I do is to put my choices into genre catergories or by decade of release then choose my top three. These usually include movies that are generally found in the top choices of most people but there are some movies topping many lists that are not included in mine for example I am not a big Star Wars fan as they just didn't grab me as a teenager as they clearly did to millions of people worldwide but I have to admit that I am looking forward to Star Wars episode 7, to be directed by J.J Abrams, as I enjoyed his vision of the Star Trek franchise and I believe the future of Star Wars is in very safe hands. Also, the new trend of making movies directly aimed at the teens, such as the "Hunger Games" and "Divergent" series being examples, I find to be tedious viewing but I'm sure they are popular judging by the box office reciepts they're just not my cup of tea. Being British I take a keen interest in the Brits who have been taking Hollywood by storm over the last few years especially the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, Martin Freeman, Mark Strong, Tom Hiddleston and look out for newcomer Jack O'Connell who can be seen in the excellent new film "Starred Up" As you can see these are all men as there doesn't seem to be a lot of British women actors breaking through at the moment but I can see bright futures for the likes of Michelle Dockery, of Downton Abbey fame, Kelly Reilly and ex Doctor Who regular Karen Gillan.
My first blog sadly coincides with the very distressing news of the death of Robin Williams of whom I am a huge fan. His style of comedy was so unique that I honestly believe we will never see anybody of his skill again. I first saw him as Mork in the TV comedy "Mork and Mindy" and he blew me away with his quirky style and everyone knew that this manic comic was here to stay and stay he did, appearing in both comedies and dramas over the following forty years that showed that he was not a one horse pony. Three of his films that show the wide range of his talent stick in my mind they are "Dead Poets Society" "Mrs. Doubtfire" and "The Birdcage" He will be sadly missed but there are three new films featuring him which will be released over the next year for us to enjoy.
So there it is my first venture into the blogosphere. I hope you enjoyed reading and that you will continue to check out my views in the future.
May the force be with you and live long and prosper.
Miles Dunton.
This is the first of what I hope to be of many weekly blogs concerning my thoughts on all aspects of the world of movies.
I have been a movie fan for around 40 years and have never lost that feeling of excitement that I get every time I go to the cinema to see a new release, whether it be a hit or a miss, it is the buzz of being taken away to a different place and time for around two hours. I remember the first film I saw at the cinema "Half a Sixpence" released in 1967 and starring Tommy Steele right up to this months "Guardians of the Galaxy" the latest from Marvel, and thousands in between. Thousands which include all genre of film of which I would have to say that action and adventure are my preferred choice and musicals my least favourite. Movies are being released thick and fast these days and it is hard to keep up with all that's going on but in this blog I will attempt to give my views on all movie news. I do not work in the film industry so I am only writing as a fan and would appreciate any feedback you can give and would love to hear your views on any of my opinions whether you agree or disagree.
I am often asked what is my favourite movie but this is a question that I find very difficult to answer as there are so many to choose from, so what I do is to put my choices into genre catergories or by decade of release then choose my top three. These usually include movies that are generally found in the top choices of most people but there are some movies topping many lists that are not included in mine for example I am not a big Star Wars fan as they just didn't grab me as a teenager as they clearly did to millions of people worldwide but I have to admit that I am looking forward to Star Wars episode 7, to be directed by J.J Abrams, as I enjoyed his vision of the Star Trek franchise and I believe the future of Star Wars is in very safe hands. Also, the new trend of making movies directly aimed at the teens, such as the "Hunger Games" and "Divergent" series being examples, I find to be tedious viewing but I'm sure they are popular judging by the box office reciepts they're just not my cup of tea. Being British I take a keen interest in the Brits who have been taking Hollywood by storm over the last few years especially the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Hardy, Martin Freeman, Mark Strong, Tom Hiddleston and look out for newcomer Jack O'Connell who can be seen in the excellent new film "Starred Up" As you can see these are all men as there doesn't seem to be a lot of British women actors breaking through at the moment but I can see bright futures for the likes of Michelle Dockery, of Downton Abbey fame, Kelly Reilly and ex Doctor Who regular Karen Gillan.
My first blog sadly coincides with the very distressing news of the death of Robin Williams of whom I am a huge fan. His style of comedy was so unique that I honestly believe we will never see anybody of his skill again. I first saw him as Mork in the TV comedy "Mork and Mindy" and he blew me away with his quirky style and everyone knew that this manic comic was here to stay and stay he did, appearing in both comedies and dramas over the following forty years that showed that he was not a one horse pony. Three of his films that show the wide range of his talent stick in my mind they are "Dead Poets Society" "Mrs. Doubtfire" and "The Birdcage" He will be sadly missed but there are three new films featuring him which will be released over the next year for us to enjoy.
So there it is my first venture into the blogosphere. I hope you enjoyed reading and that you will continue to check out my views in the future.
May the force be with you and live long and prosper.
Miles Dunton.
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