Over the last couple of years I've watched and read about quite a lot of Woody Allen's work, and have kept being surprised and amused to spot famous actors I'd never have expected to see in his films - actors who would've have been starting out in their careers back then, but are famous for other things now. [1] Helena Bonham Carter - Mighty Aphrodite (1995)
Perhaps most famous now for her regular appearances in Tim Burton's films, as well as her work in period films, in this Manhattan tale with a Greek chorus twist, Bonham-Carter plays Allen's on-screen wife Amanda - and gives a wonderfully subtle and believable performance.
Well-known now for his silly comedies and great dramatic performances in films like Chicago, you can spot a very young John C Reilly - this is his fifth credit as an actor on IMDb - in this black and white thriller as a cop in a police station. You have to watch careful though, as its easy to miss it! [3] Liam Neeson - Husbands and Wives (1992)
Liam Neeson seems to have recently gained a reputation as an action star and general badass thanks to the film Taken - which is why its so amusing to see actor play a romantic lover in this documentary-style comedy about marriage. And no, don't expect that phone scene in this movie... [4] Mayim Bialik - Don't Drink the Water (1994)
Mayim Bialik is of course most famous for playing Amy, the geeky girlfriend of Sheldon in The Big Bang Theory. But as a young actress she also in this television movie based on Allen's play, alongside geek icon Michael J Fox aka Marty McFly! [5] Anthony Head, Alexander Armstrong and Charles Dance - Scoop (2006)
This fun crime caper comedy set in England is a lighthearted Allen gem, that I'm sad more people haven't seen - partly because a load of British actors manage to turn up in a variety of small and major roles throughout. However, my favourite cameos came from these three actors. In one scene, and only one scene we have Anthony Head, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and comedian Alexander Armstrong, from Pointless, playing a bobby and a detective. Then there's also Charles Dance, who is currently playing Tywin Lannister in Game of Thrones of course, who turns up as practical newspaper editor.
This week I am not reviewing a film or television show. Instead I'd like to tell you about The Banks Endeavour. The Banks Endeavour is an authentic period drama and documentary that Red Dog Film, the company I work for, are planning to produce if we can raise enough through a crowdfunding campaign currently running on Indiegogo.
Why should you be interested this you ask? Well, the documentary/drama is about Sir Joseph Banks, an explorer and botanist that did a huge amount for science, exploration, for example...
He sailed on the Endeavour and discovered Australia with Captain Cook.
He was involved in bringing hundreds of plants back to Britain - he and his party were the first Eurpoeans to come across the Eucalyptus tree.
He is considered by some to be the father of Australia.
The strange thing is though, despite doing so much for Britain and being involved in so much, he is hardly known to the public. Surprisingly I seem to be one of the few people who seem to have heard of him.I knew his name growing up as a child because we had a Banksia rose growing up the side of our house and my father told me who is was named after. It continues to be one of my favourite flowers, because of the creamy yellow colour of the petals and because it has no thorns.
One person who has know about, and has a great appreciation for Banks though, is David Attenborough. He even recently came to the opening of a Banks exhibition at a local museum The Collection, and gave our crew an interview for the short documentary below. He also intends to be one of several interviewees bookending the 40 minute drama we intend to produce.
So that's a brief idea of what the project is about and personally, I think Sir Joseph Banks deserves more awareness. I've been helping out on the research side of the film and the amount this man did and touched upon during the Enlightenment period is incredible. In many ways this project reminds me of a fantastic programme called Breaking the Mould from the BBC Four, which was about Florey, Heatley and Chain. If you don't who these men are, they were the people who turned penicillin into a usable drug during the Second World War. Though many people justly credit Fleming with discovering penicillin, the work behind making it useful for hospitals and safe for humans was done by those three men. That programme still sticks vividly in my memory because it showed me amazing people who I never knew about it. I like to think that The Banks Endeavour can do that too. That people will suddenly realise that the plants in their garden, that Kew, that Australia would never have been what they are without one man - Joseph Banks. Anyway, so if you'd like to get involved and help support this film please click on the Indiegogo link here. The Banks Endeavour is also on Twitter and Facebook, so even if you can't donate please spread the word. Many thanks for listening... Girl With A Gun Mic
I had no idea what to review this week. Which is ironic since I've watched several movies over the last few days. Three Woody Allen films, one Roland Emmerich disaster film and The Crazies (2010), which is the film I'm reviewing today.
The Crazies is directed by Breck Eisner, who also did that fun action movie Sahara back in 2005 and who, according to IMDb is going to be directing the new The Karate Kid 2 - which based on my experience of the other two films is probably going out to be something that's solidly done but nothing special. Because unfortunately, I did not find The Crazies particularly special. The plot is as follows...a plane containing a biological weapon has come down and contaminated the drinking water of a rural farming town in America. This causes the residents who drink the water to become sick to go crazy and start killing people, including their families. The military of course turn up to deal with the problem, separating the town's Sheriff David (Timothy Olyphant) and our hero, from his wife Judy (Radha Mitchell) believing her to be sick. However David thinks they made a mistake. Judy is pregnant and that he believes has given her a fever. So, along with his deputy Russell (Joe Anderson) , he decides to go back and save her. I think the main problem with this film is that it feels too familiar - when I first saw the case I was expecting a zombie scenario, and even though the killers were definitely not zombies, there were lots of similarities. Honestly, I felt they could've been a bit more creative with it. The writers could've come up with any disease they wanted under the heading of 'biological warfare' but instead we just had crazy people, made crazy by drinking water - and isn't an infected water source rather a cliche in movies?
The disease was explained pretty vaguely anyway. We only knew what the main characters knew, after 48 hours you started going crazy. The symptoms were never fully explained or realised, and though there seemed to be hints of physical transformation later, it wasn't really explained either. Nonetheless, the film looked good and some stand out spots. I personally thought Russell was a lovely loyal character who brought some warmth to the film. Meanwhile a certain scene with a pitchfork was particularly menacing, and I thought the shots of endless farmland not only looked great, but really made you realise how isolated the heroes were, how far from civilisation. In summary: A well-made, but run-of-the-mill horror/thriller that will entertain, but probably not surprise most horror fans, especially not zombie fans.
Well, here's my extra post, I'm doing a review this weekend. I thought I'd continue with another fun post, and since I've done the my top five female geeks and nerds, I thought I'd do my five of my favourite guys too. Please note as usual, that the list is in no particular order.
1] Sheldon Cooper - The Big Bang Theory
A theoretical physicist, a science-fiction geek and a gamer to boot, Sheldon is probably one of the most famous nerds on television at the moment. I have heard that some people in the nerd/geek community do not like the Big Bang Theory because it essential mocks nerds, and though I love the show, I can see what they mean sometimes. The other male characters can seem a little embarrassed about nerdiness, especially with their girlfriends, except for Sheldon. He doesn't apologise for being nerd - or anything really, but that's beside the point. In fact he is often surprised, and pitiful, that more people don't know or care about sci-fi and science - and I personally think that's one of the things that makes him so cool. 2] Kowalski - The Penguins of Madagascar
You've probably all seen or heard of the four penguins from the Madagascar films who act like they're a special forces unit. Well the characters were so popular they got their own spin-off series - and it is fantastic. Kowalski is the genius inventor, scientist and general Q of the team - and probably my favourite character. Known for inventing incredible contraptions, he has a touch of the mad scientist about him. It should also be noted that despite understanding physics and once owning a Higgs Boson - he can't actually read. However, he is a penguin and unlike some other television scientists he can fight and is always involved in missions. 3] Pete Lattimer - Warehouse 13
Pete Latimer is the goofy, often childish partner of Myka at the Warehouse. He is also a comic-book geek and has collected almost every issue of The Iron Shadow, who his favourite superhero - we even see him wear a Iron Shadow T-shirt. 4] Dr Rodney McKay - Stargate Atlantis
A physicist and engineer who has worked with stargates, he is the Head Scientist on Atlantis. He's also the guy who normally ends up solving the team's big problem, whether that's fixing a machine or finding a way to escape a volcano in a spaceship. Hints throughout the series suggest he is also Star Trek and Batman fan. 5] The Doctor - Doctor Who
I have to admit I was unsure about putting the Doctor on this list, unlike the others who are sort of just ordinary but very intelligent or passionate people, he is an alien. His people are more science based and inherently smarter than us. Then again this list includes a penguin so, I say no criteria applies. The Doctor of course has a vast knowledge of science, from astrology to engineering to physics and a myriad of other subjects. I guess he also seems to embody other traits I associate with geeks and nerds - passion for technical stuff, the fact his superpower is his intelligence, the fact he can often be goofy or speak in a load jargon. The Doctor is almost all knowing but also all round brilliant.
Okay, so last weekend I only managed two reviews after promising three - I can be excused for watching Game of Thrones? - so I'll be writing an extra post sometime over the next week. In the meantime, I thought I'd have a change of pace and a little fun since its the holidays, and do a list this week. So, today's list is the my top five female nerds and geeks, in no particular order. Note - on definitions of nerd and geek. I personally consider these positive terms, with nerd applying to people with interests and expertise in scientific areas, and geek to anyone who is very passionate about a particular subject. However, these are just my personal definitions - you may find others online or in a dictionary. 1] Myka Bering - Warehouse 13
Myka is not only super smart, with a great eye for details, but definitely a book nerd. She grew up reading H G Wells and many other classics in the bookshop run by her parents, and her ability to quote Shakespeare has even saved lives.
[2] Col./Doctor Sam Carter - Stargate SG1
Though she's already turned up on one of my previous top five lists, I couldn't help but include her here. An astrophysicist and engineer, with an obvious passion for science, she is an expert in alien technology and the cleverest member of SG1. 3] Claudia Donovan - Warehouse 13
A cool technical nerd, Claudia has amazing computer skills, allowing to hack into a system and find anything she wants. Something of an inventor too, she has been known to create several useful gadgets for use in the Warehouse, including an holographic projector and a periscope for Artie. She also gets pretty cranky when she ends up stuck in the forest with no good Internet signal whilst on assignment. 4] Lisa Simpson - The Simspons
Perhaps one of the most famous nerds/geeks on television, Lisa is years ahead of her classmates. A member of MENSA, she has been interested in astronomy, helped Doctor Nick give her father a heart bypass and in one episode pretended to be a boy so she could learn maths in a more traditional way, after her school was serparated into girls and boys. 5] Doctor Amy Farrah Fowler - The Big Bang Theory
Again another one from my female scientists list. Amy, though not into science-fiction or comics like Sheldon Cooper, is a neurologist with a passion for medieval literature and playing the harp. Probably the smartest out of the Big Bang Theory girls, she seems to have a good knowledge of physics as well as biology.
It's taken me a long time to sit down and watch this film, two years in fact. Strangely enough I was working in a cinema at the time of its release and remember selling tickets to a crowd of people, and one girl in particular with a mocking jay face-painted on her cheek. Perhaps it was this hype that put me off it a little - like how raving about a show and nagging a friend to watch it sometimes puts them off more? Either way I was in no rush to it see it. Nonetheless, today I am reviewing The Hunger Games (2012) the first in a trilogy based on a bestselling series of books, which I've never read. So I'm just judging the movie as it is on screen here.
The Hunger Games, as many will know, is set in a sort of alternative future world where after an uprising, the Capitol of the country devises an annual televised game where pairs of teens from each district must battle to the death. When Katniss Everdeen's (Jennifer Lawrence) sister is chosen as tribute, she volunteers to take her place, and must try and win the Hunger Games to survive. First of all, I have to admire this film for taking its subject matter seriously and treating its with audience intelligence. In the battle and death scenes it manages to hit a good balance between showing the brutality and cruelty of the games, whilst still being sensitive to its young audience - for example it gives us the realities of bloody wounds but generally refrains from using blood in death scenes. I'm also impressed to see that the film and the actors never tip into melodrama. For example, when Katniss thinks fellow tribute Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) might be dead, her distress feels real but not over the top. I understand why Jennifer Lawrence was given so much praise for the role,as she is excellent. Though the character is mainly stony faced, she can subtly convey Katniss's confusion or fear, and when it comes to very emotional moments she gives a performance that feels genuine and raw. This is demonstrated best during a scene where a certain tribute dies, leaving Katniss distraught. Actually, the death scene was done well, again with sensitivity and an emphasis on the loss - and yes, it did make me cry.
Outside of the actual games I was surprised by the emphasis on the tributes promoting themselves to get sponsors - people who'd send them possibly life-saving packages during the games. Though I knew Hunger Games was something of a satire on reality television, I had not realised how much so. The focus on PR and selling themselves as something special seems to echo the media and celebrity culture today. Whilst the moment when each tribute is interviewed on a chat show, each one gorgeously dressed, feels so familiar. Though it becomes really creepy if you actually stop and think about what's going to happen to these kids after the glamour stops. The look of the future world is a pretty typical one, with its great gaps between rich and poor. The people of the Capitol seem to reflect their obviously frivolous and cold nature through their bright and decadent, but basically ugly, clothes and homes. Honestly, next to these guys Marie Antoinette's outfits would look subtle and chic, the whole place seems to be populated by casually dressed Lady GaGa's. Which finally brings us to the politic side of the Hunger Games. Obviously the Games are used to keep the districts in check and at the same time, keep them pacified - but still felt like I hadn't got the whole picture. However, since the film is mainly focused on the protagonist's point of view, I think this is fair enough. Katniss is after all only a pawn throughout the movie. She battles against the Games and its expectations, but she does not have the perspective yet to see beyond that - or the time to be honest, as it is a survival contest. I'm sure that in the next film Catching Fire, the bigger picture is revealed and tackled - and with such a smart, determined and yet resolutely compassionate character like Katniss, the people in charge are going to have a fight on their hands. In summary A solid film, that hits the right tone and treats its subject matter and audience with intelligence and respect. The cast all give genuine performances, especially Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Donald Sutherland - who does an excellent understated turn as President Snow. However though I appreciate the film's achievement, and think films like Divergent (2014) have a tough act to follow - I must say I personally did not fall in love it. It isn't say, in my top twenty films. Still, I am rather intrigued to see how the story, and Peeta and Katniss's relationship, develops in the next films. So, who knows I might become a Hunger Games fan yet.
