a blog about a lot of things

Best Director Most likely winner : Alfonso Cuaron for Gravity. Without his directorial input, this film could be quite dull and just a person floating about waiting to try to not get hit by debris. It takes a concerted effort to create the tension of this film. Backup Pick : Steve McQueen   for 12 Years a Slave. A film that sticks in the memory and is very unsettling, as are all of McQueen's works so far. A necessary film and one that must have been very difficult to direct. An excellent reflectively meditative look at one of the most difficult topics. Most deserving :  Alfonso Cuaron  for  Gravity. This is a film that is going to be mentioned as a changer in cinema. A vision of future cinema and another progression on what is possible using 3-D. To create a film that is both grandiose as well as subtle, is an immense achievement. Best Adapted Screenplay Most likely winner : John Ridley for 12 Years a Slave. The script is very good and...

So, I've been watching lots more movies than usual lately (which, is quite an achievement cause I love movies) due to a combination of finishing postgrad, being unemployed and breaking my foot (which has me very immobile for the next 5 weeks). So I made a list, as I usually do. Other than the top 5 the rankings are quite fluid and all the films are quite good. (Disclaimer: I haven't seen  Nebraska   which is why it's not on the list.) 1. Before Midnight - USA- English/French/Greek. Directed by Richard Linklater. The first one taught us adventure, the second one hope (and perhaps fate). This one teaches us the inevitability of real life. As with the previous films, the dialogue is brilliantly scripted almost to the point of unrealistic perfection. For me the film was a difficult and depressing watch because seeing the changes of my favourite screen couple with family life is like watching your childhood sporting hero when they're past their prime. It is as honest ...

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So, I've been watching lots more movies than usual lately (which, is quite an achievement cause I love movies) due to a combination of finishing postgrad, being unemployed and breaking my foot (which has me very immobile for the next 5 weeks). So I made a list, as I usually do. Other than the top 5 the rankings are quite fluid and all the films are quite good. (Disclaimer: I haven't seen  Nebraska   which is why it's not on the list.) 11. Frances Ha - USA- English. Directed by Noah Baumbach. If you watch Girls  then this film will remind you a lot of that series. It'll also remind you of Manhattan from Woody Allen, but younger people and also 40 years later. But there's that same sense of drifting yet drifting energetically. I like films about nothing at all so I'm biased but really this film is impossible without Greta Gerwig being quite likeable as Francis. It's less of a plot that just vignettes of aimless life in New York and so, of course, is ste...

Best Actor Most Likely Winner: Matthew McConaughey as Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club. Starting to look pretty secure after wins at the SAG and Globes and to be honest he very much deserves it if he does get it. Quality serious acting from Matthew McConaughey, who could see that coming after all the romance-comedy stuff? But he is excellent and completely convincing in a difficult portrayal (as true stories always are). And the weight loss is dramatic as well. Large parts of the movie I can't believe he's so skinny. Backup Pick: Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave. About half the film he doesn't speak at all and the acting is just conveyed by facial expressions. And it's done. With facial expressions alone Ejiofor gives us the look of a man in the trenches with a thousand yard stare occasionally broken by the reluctance to let despair take full control. This film is extremely difficult to watch and that's not least due to the excel...

So, I've been watching lots more movies than usual lately (which, is quite an achievement cause I love movies) due to a combination of finishing postgrad, being unemployed and breaking my foot (which has me very immobile for the next 5 weeks). So I made a list, as I usually do. Other than the top 5 the rankings are quite fluid and all the films are quite good. (Disclaimer: I haven't seen  Nebraska   which is why it's not on the list.)  20. The Square (Al-Midan) - Egypt/USA- Arabic/English. Directed by Jehane Noujaim.  I love documentaries as ways to learn more (it's how I passed my Financial History exams) and the Arab Spring was one of the biggest events of my recent life and I sadly don't know much about it. This film, given the topic, is surprisingly not depressing. It is vibrant and really illuminates the events with energy and showcases the motivation, hope and perseverance of the people.Of course, with a film of this honesty there is much that is diff...