Two can keep a secret, if one of them is dead.

Pretty Little Liars is the latest American teenage drama to captivate me and give me something to look forward to on a Tuesday morning. 

Based on Sara Shepard's unflinching teen novels of the same title, it revolves around four girls: Hanna Marin (Ashley Benson), former 'fatty'-turned-it-girl; Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell), a competitive swimmer who’s harbouring her feelings for her friend Maya due to her strict conservative parents; Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario), a high-achiever who feels the need to compete with her catty older sister for everything; and Aria Montgomery (Lucy Hale), who returns from a year abroad in Iceland only to fall for the dishy Ezra Fitz, who is soon revealed to be her English teacher. 

Four mini-film reviews: LOST AND DELIRIOUS (Léa Pool, 2001), MEAN GIRLS 2 (Melanie Mayron, 2011), THE KING'S SPEECH (Tom Hooper, 2010) and MEAN CREEK (Jacob Aaron Estes, 2004)

Screening Log (24/01/2011 – 30/01/2011) 

My winter exams ended on Friday, so I’ve basically just had a big-ass movie binge since then (along with catching up with Pretty Little Liars, which is fan-bloody-tastic!)

Lost and Delirious (Léa Pool, 2001)

Mischa Barton plays shy, unsure Mary “Mouse” Bedford, who feels alienated from her dad and stepmother, who at the start of the film drop her off in a girl’s boarding school. She’s placed in a room with Piper Perabo’s charismatic wildchild and her popular best friend Tory (Jessica Toree). 

She soon realises that Tory and Paulie are more than just friends, and whilst Mary gets used to the idea and Paulie loves it, Tory has trouble admitting to herself that she could be in love with another girl. 

Lost and Delirious is beautifully shot and scored, and although there are moments which descend into laughable histrionics, it still remains a hugely affecting and poignant look at young love and loss. 

Mischa Barton in particular impressed me me; whereas I’d always found her annoying in The OC, here, her subtle performance is more on the level of her great work in Lawn Dogs, the epitome of youthful charm and sweet innocence.

7.5/10

The Oscar Nominations 2011: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

Full list here



Good
- Hailee Steinfeld's nomination! It's her first film role and a child performance as good as Saoirse Ronan in Atonement and Ivana Baquero in Pan's Labyrinth, two other performances I adore. The whole "pushing her into support" was a severe case of category frauds, but it's not the first and won't be the last time a kid has been pushed into supporting to boost their chances (see also: Tatum O'Neal in Paper Moon) and let's be honest, everyone does it (see also: Jake G in BBM, Jamie Foxx in Collateral), and she's not hurting anyone (apart from maybe Mila Kunis. Whom I also love, but in a more lesbian way), and if I get over my massive girlcrush on Mila I'll happily admit that Steinfeld's performance eclipsed Kunis', so in that sense, good is good!

- Christopher Nolan not getting a Best Director nomination for Inception. Oh, how I laughed. :DDDDD Cannot stand that film. Second least favourite of 2010. If I had my way, it would be leading the charge at the  Razzies

- Screenplay & Song love for my favourite film of 2010, Toy Story III.


- Melissa Leo, Amy Adams and Christian Bale getting duly nominated for their excellent performances in The Fighter (though they were sure-locks). The latter two will be favourites to go on and win, and deservedly so.

Bad
- 127 Hour's score getting nominated. I mean, really? It was just bloody sounds.

- The Social Network for Sound Mixing. Are you joking me?!

- Jeremy Renner getting nominated for The Town. I'd heard so much hype for his performance, but really, he just came off as surly. I cannot believe he got in ahead of Garfield. Speaking of which...


Ugly
- The Academy treating Andrew Garfield not dissimilar to how Mark Zuckerberg treated Eduardo Saverin. This was my reaction to his snub:


I am NOT a happy bunny!

2011 Oscar Nomination Predictions.

I’m in the middle of exams, so I’m just predicting the main categories. And score, 'cos I love me my film music :-)

Best Film

127 Hours

Black Swan

The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King's Speech
The Social Network
The Town
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Alt: Winter’s Bone

I'm still not used to this 10-instead-of-5 nominations malarky. It really, really devalues the Oscars, if you ask me. And Inception? PAH.

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David Fincher, The Social Network
Tom Hooper, The King's Speech
Chris Nolan, Inception
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Alt: Danny Boyle, 127 Hours

Pretty standard, I’d say. I’ve seen all but The King’s Speech, and of them, Fincher is my favourite and the likely eventual winner. I’ll keep my (less than impressed) opinions about Inception to myself, no?

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, True Grit

Robert DuVall, Get Low

Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network

Colin Firth, The King's Speech

James Franco, 127 Hours

Alt: Ryan Gosling, Blue Valentine

I’ve only seen Bridges’ and Eisenberg’s performances, both of which are solid turns. I really enjoyed Marky Mark in The Fighter, but he doesn’t seem to have gathered as much pre-cursor buzz, so I’m not predicting him, despite him being one of my favourites.

Best Actress

Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter's Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine
Alt: Julianne Moore, The Kids are All Right

I don’t know what’s going with Hailee Steinfeld in terms of category placement; she’s quite clearly lead, but I think the FYCs have pushed her as supporting. Now sometimes, the Academy make up their own minds (like Keisha Castle-Hughes in Whale Rider), but if they accept her as lead, I don’t think she’ll get nominated, which is a shame so I’ll take her getting nominated in supporting because even though it’s category fraud, a nomination’s better than none at all, non? And I love Julie Moore, so despite the fact that I haven't seen The Kids are All Right yet, I want her to get another nomination <3

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, The Fighter
Andrew Garfield , The Social Network
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
Alt: John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone

I’m not gonna lie, I really don’t see the big deal with Jeremy Renner’s performance; he was just all psycho-y. Rebecca Hall was the best performance in that film. I don’t see the Oscars “doing a BAFTA” and nominating Pete Postlewaite for the same film, so this is the safe five. I will CUT A BITCH if Andrew Garfield doesn’t get nominated, he was wonderful. Oh, Andy.

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Fighter

Helena Bonham Carter, The King's Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom
Alt: Mila Kunis, Black Swan

Awww, I really, really, really wish Mila Kunis were getting nominated, but the pre-cursors just don’t seem enough for her, plus I don’t know if her free-spirited ballerina is “baity” enough for the Oscars. Anyway, I’d love for her to get nominated. However, were Kunis to get nominated, it seems that Hailee Steinfeld would be the opportunity cost, and I loved Steinfeidl in True Grit, her getting nominated would be a score one for the young action heroines that Ivana Baquero in Pan's Labyrinth missed out on. Plus Steinfeld was so natural and wonderful. So I'm so conflicted! Having seen The Fighter last night, I am fully in support of Adams’ and Leo’s nominations; I can’t decide whom I like more, but if Melissa Leo does win the Oscar, good for her!

Original Screenplay
Blue Valentine

The Fighter

Inception

The Kids are All Right
The King’s Speech
Alt: Black Swan

Right, so, why am I going for a Black Swan snub in favour of Blue Valentine? I dunno, I just think they might do it to “compensate” for Ryan Gosling not getting nominated. Plus I’ve heard reviews about how ~~true to life~~ the script is, so perhaps it will resonate with the Academy voters who are stuck in loveless marriages. Again, I’m shaking my head at Inception’s joke of a script getting nominated, but whatever.

Adapted Screenplay

127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story III
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

Oh dear god, I sincerely hope 127 Hours’ script doesn’t get nominated (hai. I’m on a rock. Hai, I’m chopping off my arm. Hai, film’s ended.), but I can see Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy (the twosome responsible for Slumdog Millionaire’s script – now that was a nice screenplay) getting nominated. The others, I’m cool with. I’d love if Toy Story III (my favourite film of 2010 at this moment in time) won over The Social Network, but that ain’t happening, and The Social Network is my second fave film of 2010 and I loved the banter, so I can deal. The lines coming out of this guy's mouth were hilar:

Score
Alexandre Desplat, The King’s Speech
Randy Newman, Toy Story III
John Powell, How to Train Your Dragon
Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, The Social Network
Hans Zimmer, Inception

Whilst I deeply enjoyed The Social Network, one thing I cannot for the life of me fathom is all the hoo-ha over its score. That’s the only Oscar that I have a problem with it getting. I really liked Desplat’s score to the seventh Harry Potter film, but obviously The King’s Speech is the score he’ll be getting nominated for. And despite holding Inception in the absolute lowest regard, the music in it was pretty decent.

Other?
My main Oscar wish is that “Never Say Never” from The Karate Kid gets nominated for Best Song. It’s actually written by Justin Bieber, and I don’t know if I can be dealing with him as an Oscar nominee, but the song sums up the film so well, plus there’s a swaggerous breakdown rap in the middle. I rate it.


Oh, and should Andrew Garfield not get nominated? This is gonna be my reaction:

Film review: THE PARADINE CASE (Alfred Hitchcock, 1947)

“You’ve seen Mrs Paradine. What does she look like?” asks Gregory Peck’s on-screen wife Gay Keane (played by Ann Todd). To which Peck’s Tony Keane, the defence lawyer trying to prove the innocence of said Mrs Paradine, a woman on trial for poisoning her elderly blind husband to death, answers “Strangely attractive.” 

Three film reviews: 127 HOURS (Danny Boyle, 2010), THE SOCIAL NETWORK (David Fincher, 2010) and THE TOWN (Ben Affleck, 2010)

Screening log 10/01/11-16/10/11

I watched three films this week, all 2010 releases, two set in Boston, one set in between a rock.

127 Hours (Danny Boyle, 2010)

You’ve seen the trailer, you’ve heard the hype, you know what it’s about. While I don't treat IMDb scores as gospel, the film received a notably high rating on the site, so truth be told, I expected more. Instead, I found 127 Hours to be fairly boring at points. What we have here is about 60 minutes of material dragged out into a cinema release with the help of some fancy digital effects. 

Language. Sex. Violence. Other?

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Sexiest film Characters of 2010.

Not gonna lie, I am a bit of a horny bung. I love doing these lists, because it is essentially just an excuse for me to trawl through the web for yummy pics of yummy people.

Men

01. Andrew Garfield, The Social Network

I remember, back in 2009, when me and my two best friends Luke and Anna were in the Little Theatre, Bath, watching The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus. It was a horrifically shoddy movie and we were not impressed. However, there was one bright spot to the entire film, and that came in the form of Jewish cutie pie Andrew Garfield, or, as I thought of him, “him off Sugar Rush.” 

It was such a delight to see him cast as the awkward, clumsy comedy part, as that is a role that I feel suits him to a T. Little did I know that in 2010, he’d be turning heads in a huge fashion in sci-fi drama Never Let Me Go alongside Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan, as well as the probable Oscar winner for Best Pic, The Social Network, a film I’d just watched yesterday. And not only does he give a wonderful performance, but he is just so, irresistibly cute, dorky and fine! I would quite happily be his groupie.

02. Rupert Grint, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I

Oh, Rupert! Whilst the seventh Harry Potter film didn’t fill me with as much childish glee and thrill as, say, Prisoner of Azkaban or Order of the Phoenix did, Rupert Grint, was, as ever, a joy to watch throughout. And, when he takes his shirt off? Goddamn. Little boy’s all grown up!

03. Zac Efron, Charlie St. Cloud

Watched this on New Year’s Eve with my mates and, I was the topic of some jesting because my cheeks were literally going red whenever Mr. Efron was on screen. I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Zac Efron, but one thing remains sure – I do think he’s fit.

04. Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy & Cillian Murphy, Inception

Now, as you may or may not know, I wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of Inception. Ha, that’s somewhat of an understatement; it currently stands as my second least favourite film of 2010, just behind Enter the Void. But, I can’t deny no way my d-d-dirty mind was perving on the fit guys instead of watching the pretentious film itself. I was loving the homoerotic undertones between Gordon-Levitt and Hardy, Cillian Murphy is never not beautiful, and Leo, even though he had more than a touch of the Shutter Island crazy that he sported in the other film of 2010, works a suit very well indeed.

05. Taylor Lautner, Twilight: Eclipse

I hate me too, don’t worry. But that body! UNF.

And, a few Non-film entries…

Peter Crouch, footballer (Spurs)

Standard, innit. Crouchie didn’t exactly set goal-scoring records alight in 2010, but one of his few goals that he did score – the winner in the fourth place showdown between Manchester City and Tottenham, was enough to bung Spurs into the Champions League. I still maintain that he should have started in all the games for England in the World Cup too, then we may have actually got somewhere. But oh well. Tall giant is tall. And awesome.

Robert Sheehan, The Misfits

The Misfits was one of my main discoveries of 2010, and I now adore the show. It’s essentially Heroes-meets-Skins, but unlike Heroes, there’s a small number of characters so that we can actually follow the plot and we’re not swamped with pseudo-Science, and unlike Skins, the characters aren’t posers who think they have swagger when they’re just slutty. Anyway, Robert Sheehan’s Irish accent, corkscrew curls and cheeky chappy demeanour made him completely irresistible, especially when he’s slashing it up with Iwan Rheon.

Frank Lampard, footballer (Chelsea)

Huh. As if he wasn’t gonna get a mention!

Gurls

01. Mila Kunis, Black Swan

02. Eva Mendes, The Other Guys

03. Emma Stone, Easy A

04. Kaya Scodelario, Shank

05. Tamsin Egerton, 4.3.2.1

BAFTA Rising Star Nominees!

Gemma Arterton
Andrew Garfield
Tom Hardy
Aaron Johnson
Emma Stone

source

Haha, I remember whining two years ago of Gemma not being nominated. Well, now's her time! But although I love her, I don't think she should win this year; I just don't think she's a rising star so much as a star who's already risen. (two years ago, easily. She was in a handful of movies and starred in BBC's Tess of the D'urbevilles, which to this day is my fave performance of her's). Emma Stone carried Easy A and Tom Hardy almost made the trash that was Inception worth watching with his cheekiness. But the guy who deserves it this year is the STUNNING Andrew Garfield, or as I still think of him, "him off Sugar Rush". Get it!

The Social Vexwork.

I'm currently watching David Fincher's The Social Network, and I must say, I love how the protagonist goes on livejournal to whine about his fail of a love life. Because that doesn't sound familiar at all. ;)

Three mini-film reviews: YOU AGAIN (Andy Fickman, 2010), PAPER MOON (Peter Bogdanovich, 1973) and CONVICTION (Tony Goldwyn, 2010)

Just three this week, a terrible film, a terrific film, and a film that I liked a lot more than I expected to; all three films are about family.

You Again (Andy Fickman, 2010)

Kristen Bell plays Marni, a girl who was a “loser” in high school complete with oversized glasses, a dodgy haircut, and a streak of constant clumsiness that made her an incredibly easy target for the school's head cheerleader, Joanna (Odette Yustman). Eight years later, she is a successful public relations VP, who returns home for her brother’s wedding. 

Supporting Actress 2010: Mila Kunis in Black Swan.

This be my entry for Stinky Lulu's Class of 2010 Supporting Actress blogathon. Get over there for more Supporting Actress Greatness!



Now, I'mma let you in on a little secret. When I was writing my entry for Supporting Actress, Class of 2008, my brain was telling me to pick Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona, but my heart was urging me to pick Mila Kunis for Forgetting Sarah Marshall. In the end, I went with my head, though several days later I gave Forgetting Sarah Marshall a re-watch, and I knew that I should have gone with my heart's pick. To semi-atone for my movie-related mistake, I compiled my list of all-round favourite performances from that year, and bunged Miss Kunis at a high position in the list. But I didn't lose too much sleep over the matter, because I knew that, such was her talent and loveliness, that Mila Kunis was sure to come back in future years with a performance of equal, if not higher, calibre. And right I was, because in 2010, she stepped out and turned heads in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan. And boy, what a performance.

In Black Swan, Natalie Portman's character, Nina Sayers, is an extremely devoted and hardworking ballet student. The director at the ballet school, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel, never swarmier), wants to put on a production of the famous Black Swan ballet, and for the lead, instead of picking the experienced Beth (Winona Ryder), he decides he wants fresh blood for the role. There is nothing Nina wants more than this lead. And she would be fuilly deserving of it, if it were not for one thing: to depict the swan in Swan Lake, the actress must be able to depict both sides of the swan, the innocent, "white" swan, as well as be able to dance the part of its evil twin, the black swan. Anyone with eyes can see that Nina is perfect for the part of the white swan, but she is too vulnerable, innocent, and takes herself far too seriously to be the black swan. Looking for inspiration in how to "let herself go", Leroy points Nina in the direction of Lily, a recent addition to the ballet troupe. She is not as gifted technically as Nina, nor does she try half as hard, but she has a kind of devil-may-care swagger (if swagger were to translate onto the dance floor) that Nina herself lacks. Soon, Nina forges a kind of twisted "keep your friends close and your enemies even closer" friendship with Lily that helps her embody her character more, whilst simultaneously contributing to her downfall.

Before having seen the film and just checked out the trailer, I guessed that with the Yin/Yan-ing of Portman as the White Swan and Kunis as the Black one, we, the audience, were supposed to feel an aversion to the character of Lily. Quite the opposite. Instead, we, like Lily, are drawn into this free spirit, wanting to know more about her, whilst not letting on that we're curious. The curious casting of Portman and Kunis, who don't look dissimilar, really brings out the difference in their two personalities; Nina, the obsessive-compulsive who is obsessed with "perfection", and Lily, who is more than happy to live her life and go where the wind blows. Furthermore, what I thought was extremely clever about Kunis' portrayal of Lily is that she presents her character as appearing friendly, a bit morally and sexually loose, but harmless with it, yet Nina feels completely and utterly threatened by her. Whether this discomfort towards Lily is justified, or a product of Nina's detereorating mental condition, well, that forms much of the basis of the film.

The other thing I thought was terrific about Mila's performance is that she is the perfect foil for Natalie Portman. Although the two may look alike, that is where the similarities end. Portman's Nina is practically still a kind insofar as she's very much a mummy's girl, and her pink bedroom is decorated with stuffed animals. Everything must be neat and in its place and in order; she eats half a grapefruit and a tiny egg for breakfast, ties her hair in an impossibly neat bun, and executes all her dance moves with precision. Lily, on the other hand, doesn't dance badly, but it's definitely more of a "flap her arms about" thing rather than the intense study that Nina regards it with. Part of the intensity of Natalie Portman's performance is how starkly it concentrates with Mila Kunis' casualness. The "hot badass" role could so easily escalate into caricature, but thanks to some astute writing and subtle line-delivery (check Mrs. Family Guy out when says "What, did you have some kind of lezzy wet dream about me!?"), Nina is every bit a real person as the director would like.



Then there's the sex scene. Without giving away too much about the film, I'll simply say "not all is at it seems". But the dedication from both actresses to that scene was terrific, I thought. Their love-making felt authentic, heated, and such was the urgency of the scene that you almost wanted Kunis to go down on Portman as much as their characters did. Haha.

Thus, Mila Kunis in Black Swan is my pick for Supporting Actress Class of 2010. A performance that is by turns sexy, funny, dark and enthralling throughout. I could not take my eyes off her. Get it, Mila.