At The Flix with @Timmy666
Hello one and all. Welcome to this dose of all things cinematic. Let’s roll with this week’s releases.
Far From The Madding Crowd (12A)
Director Thomas Vinterberg’s adaption brings an eclectic cast and a script from David Nicholls to Hardy’s not particularly film-able novel.
There’s a precedence, namely Schlesinger’s 1967 adaptation, which recently received a limited cinema rerun in advance of this.
Carey Mulligan’s Bathsheba is a very different portrayal to Julie Christie’s from the 1967 version, and as Mulligan is one of the best actresses out there, she’s got the kind of nuance and depth to bring something great to the table. Much curiosity to see Michael Sheen in the role of Mr Boldwood as well.
The big issue is always in the adaptation of a very difficult book. That said, I always try to judge the film on its own merits and not as a verbatim adaptation of what’s on the page!
Two By Two: Ooops…The Ark Has Gone (U)
This couldn’t further away from Darren Aronofsky’s portrayal of Noah, but still the animals will come in two by two in this animated portrayal of the Biblical Epic.
The book of Genesis happens to encapsulate the tale quite neatly in a few chapters.
Yet interestingly, Noah doesn’t feature, replaced by a lion at the helm and then other talking animals.
This is an animation with the desire to retell the story with an affectionate kid friendly spin. Sadly reviews have so far shown this film to be the antithesis of epic or biblical .
Unfriended (15)
Think before you Skype or Hangout with someone you don’t know!
For those looking for some horror story rooted in something every day and real, Unfriended has been getting quite a few notes of praise for its portrayal of a cyber-bullying gone very wrong indeed.
This is supernatural horror which has from the sounds of it moved a style of horror started with Blair Witch to the tablet and phone generation. The main character is called Blaire, innit.
The portrayal of social media (gone wrong) has had a few precedents but none to great success. If there’s a film that deserves the most unnerving social media campaign it could be this one. Think before you click ‘like’ or choose to ‘follow’.
Dark Horse (PG)
Showing at the mac this week, Dark Horse: The Incredible True Story of Dream Alliance won an Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival. It tells the story of working club barmaid who buys a horse and trains it to success and ultimately disaster.
The documentary has been garnering great attention and is definitely more than an each way bet at the cinema this week.
That’s it from me this week. As always, any comments or quibbles, I can be found on twitter @timmy666. Till next week!
