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SNAP! Screening a series of short documentaries from FourDocs and 3 Minute Wonder.
Thursday 27th March 2008
The Drawing Office, Titanic Quarter, 2 Queen’s Road, Queens Island, Belfast [MAP]
Doors open 7pm, screening at 8pm
Free admission
Part One
3MW: Mouthing Off: Scoring (Ken Wardrop)3MW: Lee Kern’s A-Z of London: Love (Lee Kern)
4Docs: Kebab (Khaldoon Ahmed)
4Docs: Rose Thieves (Jane Cheadle)
3MW: Little Worlds: Maria’s Story (Sally Hewitt)
4Docs: Flora and Thieves (Xanthe Hamilton)
4Docs: I Remember Lebanon (Zenia Aboul Hosn)
Part Two
3MW: People in Order: Age 1-100 (James Price & Lenka Clayton)3MW: WarTorn Stories of separation: Anna & Rissell (David Modell)
4Docs: Twenty Lenghts (Katie Barlow)
3MW: Beside the Seaside: Ice-cream (Julie Moggan)
4Docs: Weston Super Mare (Dan Blore)
3MW: Preparing for the Worst - Gordon Francis (James Caddick)
4Docs: Country Commute (Robin Field)
Anyone who knows me will know that I love Johnny Depp. A lot.
Having seen many of his movies, unfortunately not all - but I have a feeling that will change as I begin obsessing over him again. Even though I find many of them to to be a bit crap (Secret Window, From Hell) he always remains the best thing about them.
It all started with Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, of course I had seen others before then, namely Edward Scissorhands, though I was too young to realise/care who he was. It was only when I was 16/17 that I was told it was him in Fear and Loathing - finding it hard to believe and always forgetting due to the baldness.
Having watched it at least once a week for many months back then, each time seeing something that I had missed before, eventually grasping what the second half is all about - when things go really downhill. Filled with so many great lines and Johnny’s junkie-like stagger and voice of a deranged crazy-man from all those drugs:
DUKE (V/O)
We had two bags of grass, seventy-
five pellets of mescaline, five
sheets of high powered blotter
acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine,
a whole galaxy of multi-colored
uppers, downers, screamers, laughers…
Also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum,
a case of beer, a pint of raw ether and
two dozen amyls.
============================
DUKE (V/O)
No point mentioning these bats.
I thought. The poor bastard will see
them soon enough.============================
DUKE (V/O)
Not that we needed all that for the
trip, but once you get locked into
a serious drug collection, the tendency
is to push it as far as you can.============================
GONZO
Oh, Jesus! Did you see what god
just did to us?DUKE
God didn’t do that! You did it!
You’re a fucking narcotics agent,
that was our cocaine, you pig!
The next Depp movie I saw was Benny and Joon - immediately falling in love with it. In this, Johnny plays Sam an eccentric character who basis himself on Buster Keaton, he is in his element. This is just another of his films where he has few lines and so much of the performance is through his eyes and body language; playing the very visual and eccentric character of Sam, who imitates Buster Keaton through both behaviour and fashion.
Between perching himself on a mail box, playing with the bread sticks and, most memorably, the scene in the bath - fully clothed - its all in the eyes.
Last year whilst reading his biography ‘A kind of Illusion‘ and learning of his early years in Kentucky where he was born in 1963. His family moved a lot until settling in Florida when he was 7. His parents divorced when he was 15.
Before meeting Nicolas Cage and getting a role in a cop drama called 21 Jump Street which ran for five years from 1987, he was a rock star. His first film role was in A Nightmare on Elm Street playing the character of Glen who gets swalowed by the bed which then spews out his blood in great style.
After I saw Donnie Brasco I was in love. This man is a genius. He can do anything. Around this time I also watched Blow, which I watch every few months so as not to forget any of the lines.
The unfortunate thing I have found with Johnny Depp is that, in my personal opinion, he has been a part of some terrible films, though he has always remained the best part of them, often the only good thing about them. Such notable examples include From Hell, Once Upon a Time in Mexico - even when he loses his eyes he still remains cool, and why Antonio Banderas has to occasionally strum his spanish guitar at speratic moments throughout the movie is beyond my understanding.
For me, Sleepy Hollow and The Ninth Gate are the worst. Both awful films. I don’t want to just leave it at that, I could elaborate. Though I hardly feel that there is much point. It hardly matters really, for Johnny has been in some of the best films also. After I saw Donnie Brasco I knew I was in love. This man is a genius. He can do anything. It was around this time that I watched Blow, which I watch every few months so as not to forget any of the lines.
Secret window is a good one. I saw this movie in the cinema, and am still very undecided. I’m not so sure about the lack of originality in the story line, though he does a convincing job at playing the troubled writer.
Then came along Pirates of the Caribbean, the first of the three-part series; The Curse of the Black Pearl. The first time Jack Sparrow is seen at the top of his sinking ship, looking into the distance, it just adds a whole new sense of ‘hell yeah!’ than it would have been without him.
His drunken stagger, slurred speech, crazy attitude, open sense of humour, this character brings out all the good of Depp’s performance. The two sequels weren’t able to match the first, but in a similar vein to the Arcade Fire’s first album, they just weren’t going to top it.
The Tim Burton -Johnny Depp relationship goes back quite a while, beginning in 1990 with Edward Scissor Hands, followed by Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hallow (1999) and Corpse Bride (2005). Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, also released in 2005, was an obvious match for the two, though I found it almost too weird to enjoy as much as I would have liked.
Released late last year in the States, and only a few weeks ago in the UK and Ireland, Sweeney Todd, the latest collaboration with Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter looks great, and I’ve been looking forward to watching it. Today at 6:40pm I will be sitting comfortably with my popcorn feasting my eyes and ears on what I hope will live up to the reviews I have avoided reading, but who’s ratings I have glanced at.
Although he does have his trademark “iconic loner” character, his character has a broad range. The deep and pensive, to drunkenly foolish, yet always in control and one step ahead.
Definitely enjoying getting mail so often. Yesterday the card reader and diffuser arrived. Today my new hard drive arrived. It also means my bro delivers the stuff to me, we go for coffee and I have someone to photograph.
We both got coffee and muffins yesterday. Then went to see The Good Shepherd. We had planned to see TMNT, though I got the times mixed up and we missed it. I have wanted to see The Good Shepherd since it came out, expecting to to be really good. Instead it was very long, extremely boring and often hard to follow.
From thelondonpaper.com:
There’s a point during The Good Shepherd where you’ll ponder suicide. It’s roughly half an hour in. Then you’ll doubt the meaning of existence (40 minutes), wonder if it’s still the same season outside (one hour), convince yourself zombies now rule the earth (2 hours 18 minutes), and suggest to the person next to you that you must eat the man in row five to survive.
Thats pretty much how it was. Restlessly rearranging myself in my seat to stop my ass going completely numb, I tried to stay completely interested. It was hard.
Following Edward Wilson (Matt Damon) through his life as a CIA agent. He marries Margaret Russell (Angelina Jolie) after she becomes pregnant, though soon after he is sent to London. When he returns six years later, his son doesn’t know him and wife barely knows him.
For some reason she stays with him for 25 years of distant marriage. Edward is married to his job rather than his family.
He’s a closed-mouthed, stony-faced, mannequin-man with all the sense of humour of a post. She could marry a hat-stand and have more laughs. Jolie suffers for 25 agonising years in a loveless marriage – and the audience isn’t far behind. (thelondonpaper.com)
One thing that stood out about the film is how it deals with the chronology of events. Switchings back and forth and time often, even going from April to March in quick succession, and adding even more confusion Matt Damon just doesn’t age at all making it even harder to tell.
[edited] Although I don’t I don’t see it being a problem, as the people around me are more important to me than anything else, this film just instilled made me aware of how imporant this is. Constantly trying to strive to become a good person and treat those around me well, this film shows very clearly how neglecting those closest to your can cause the eventual breakdown of these relationships.
There was a moral there - it just took a hell of a long time to get there.
Maybe it was silly of me to think it would be anything like the Bourne series and just hold on until the Summer for the final installment.
[It was brought to my attention through the comment by Ronan that I worded the above paragraph terribly, so I have re-worded it slightly; though not changing the point I was making.]
Sometimes you gotta look beyond everything think you know about a place to find out what’s really going on. Its happening more and more and more. Belfast really is a ‘happening’ place. Sometimes.
This time, movies are in the spotlight with the launch of the Belfast Film Festival. Into its 7th year, the festival spans 11 days and 10 venues and too many movies/events to count (about 110).
The opening night premier was the UK and Ireland premier of Kenneth Branagh’s latest acting and directoral roles with ‘The Magic Flute‘, an adaption of one of Mozart’s most famous operas.
As I flick through the programme many films catch my eye, though for the most part I haven’t heard of any of them, however, reading the blurb I have picked out many that I would like to see. As well as great films the festival plays host to a variety of events, the strangest being the 6th World Pong Championships.
One of the highlights of the 2007 festival is Sarah Polley’s directorial debut Away From Her. Sarah is no stranger to Northern Ireland having starred in The Secret Life of Words which was filmed here, alongside Tim Robbins in 2005.
Away From Her, a moving film starring Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent, tells how a long term marriage is wedged apart by Alzheimer’s. Poignant and gracefully told, this film is a must see at the festival. The festival is delighted to announce that Julie Christie will attend the festival to present this very special screening.
With categories from International Cinema, Anime, European Cinema, Same Sex Cinema and Music Documentaries, the festival easily caters to all. There are even a few Irish language films!
The highlights for many will probably be the Drive-In showings of Dirty Dancing and Aliens.
The Belfast Film Festival Drive-In is back by popular demand for two nights only. We will once again erect our giant 50ft x 40ft screen at the Titanic Quarter Paint Hall and our audience will tune into the film sound on their car radios. Tickets for this event are strictly limited so book early! Food and toilet facilities will be available on site.
Limited to 35 places, The Fog, Jason and the Argonauts, The Goonies and Dead Calm are to be shown on the Lagan boat presumably while it sails around the Lagan for a bit.
I still haven’t decided what I want to see yet. I shall continue to read about each of the films being shown, wishing the festival wasn’t being held at the end of the month when I have run out of disposable cash to afford to attend as much as I would like to.
I first read about the Festival Pass a few months ago, I know I should have gone for it.
Passes cost £40 and pass holders will receive tickets for 10 film screenings and 1 special event. They will also get admission to the opening and closing night after show parties and advance warning on special guests or events.
The pass entitles the holder to 1 ticket to each event of their choice and represents a saving of 50% on full price tickets. Tickets for individual events must be reserved in advance to avoid disappointment.
With most events now sold out, and tickets costing £5-10 this would have been a great idea.
One month ago I decided to attempt to watch as many films nominated for this year’s Oscars as possible. I managed 15. Pretty pathetic I know, but I’m still quite proud of myself.
I’ve never been one to watch many films. I put this down to my short attention span and preference to use my PC/Internet instead, though I do feel I have a decent collection of dvds, if not relatively small at only 52.
I have been asked a by a few friends recently why I have become suddenly so interested in the Oscars this year compared with any other year, what with my usual attitude of being generally opposed to such senseless award ceremonies. Maybe its just another one of my short-lived obsessions - but I feel this one may be a little more long-lived than the others. I have always been interested in media. This time I’m just taking it further.
The Oscars, like most award ceremonies, creep up on me and I don’t normally know they are taking place until the day of the event, or the day after. This time, after reading about it a whole month ago, I wanted to be able to make an informed opinion. Unlike Crash, winning best film last year, which I had not heard of at the time - not helped by the fact that it hadn’t been released here yet. I also still haven’t seen Million Dollar Baby, winner of the best film category in 2005.
This year, however, each of the films nominated for best film have been in the cinema here, and I have managed to see them all - though it was pretty close, only catching Letters from Iwo Jima and The Departed on Saturday. My plan to be able to make an informed decision in the best Film category. Unfortunately, the only other categories I was able to do this with were Original Screenplay and Film Editing. Maybe I can do better next year.
Each of the nominations for best film were thoroughly enjoyable to watch, though I think Blood Diamond and The Last King of Scotland should have been included. I personally wouldn’t have given The Departed the prize, instead I think that should have gone to Babel. For me it is by far the better film.
As for the others… well I still have plenty to see. Now where can I find those documentaries…?
This weeks watching includes Happy Feet, The Good Shepherd and Superman Returns.
It seems to be that throughout the whole of January people talk about their new year’s resolutions. Whether they have still managed to keep to them and if they have given up. Then there’s the people who go through the whole month saying “another of my new resolutions is to…” 3 weeks into the month.
I do have some. Some I plan to start in a few weeks/months and one or two I have started. Though for the most part, I don’t generally bother. This year I hope to quit smoking - but I’m postponing it for a bit - definitely by 30th April though. Another is to ease up on my alcohol intake. I guess I have made some headway with that one. Thirdly I plan to blog more - that one I’m certainly doing.
Another is to watch more movies. At one point last year I said (though I put it down to having had a few drinks) I want to try watching a movie everyday for a year. This will never ever work out, so i quickly scraped it. This year though, I am going to watch more movies than before. This week I watched three. Three great movies. The Last Kiss (Zach Braff), Brokeback Mountain and The Pursuit of Happyness (Will Smith). I enjoyed each one. Each time I do something that I don’t do very often, then do it three days in a row it just makes me want to do it every day.
However, my new plan is to watch all of the movies that have been nominated for an Oscar this year. I have 30 days to see as many as possible. Certainly the main categories; picture, director, actor, actress, supporting actor/actress, original screenplay. So far I’ve seen 3, out of 58! I reckon the hardest category will be ‘documentary feature’ and ‘documentary short’, but I have until this time next year.
I have made a list of all 41 movies with Oscar nominations. those in bold I have seen. Check my progress here.
I have become a regular reader of The Guardian over the last month or so. I read in last saturdays edition that they will be giving away a free copy of Supersize me today. It is a great movie, and after watching Morgan Spurlock’s 30 Days series a few weeks ago followed closely by the documentary itself, it has rekindled my respect for the guy and for what he is does.
Though the free dvd with newspapers thing. I read an article in relation to this not so long ago citing the fact that many newspapers still do it to increase sales, especially the tabloids (or my preferred title, red tops). Over the course of this week I have seen a TV advertisement for this free dvd many times - and I hardly watch any TV.
This won’t be the deciding factor in my continued reading of The Guardian, I made that decision a few weeks ago. Though are you going to buy it now as a result of hearing of this free giveaway?
Morgan Spurlock also has a blog which makes for some good reading if you want to keep up-to-date.