Fiercely Mild

The 'Prawn' Mothership in District 9

District 9  movie review of great Sci-Fi epic though using mock-documentary style

The science fiction thriller based in South Africa in 1982 is based on a short film ‘Alive in Joburg’, Directed by Neil Blomkamp and produced by Sharlto Copley. The film touches on a number of themes close to South Africa including apartheid and social segregation with regard to the Aliens who are stranded in South Africa.

District 9 successfully places a new spin on ‘Alien’ genre films. We’ve had ‘Men in Black’, ‘Independence Day’, ‘Alien’ and ‘Independence Day’, but for me these films always lacked a certain element of authenticity and were always too over Hollywoodised. The mock-documentary style really helps give the film an edgier touch which helps it seem all the more realistic.

Peter Jackson and Neil Blomkamp manages to create a new spin by adapting to the current trend of using a faux-documentary style to re-tell the build up to the main event. This is primarily explored by using interviews with people close to the protagonist Wikus van de Merwe (Sharlto Copley) and documentray footage pieced together in the build to the relocation of the aliens. Sharlto Copley has hinted his desire to make a second film, however, in terms of exploring a potential prequel to the original film. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

Eric Cantona in 'Looking for Eric' beside classic poster

Looking for Eric is one of those special films that perfectly captures modern working life in Manchester and the magic of Manchester United for its fans

Films based around football have never had the best reputation within the world of cinema. However, this is not so much film about football. It is more a film about how football represents an arena of joy, sorrow and comfort for fans.Particularly how Eric Cantona, even though he retired in 1997 still hold a special place in the hearts of Manchester United fans old and new.

‘Looking For Eric‘ revolves around the imaginary relationship between a postman going through a very difficult time in his life and ex-Manchester United player Eric Cantona. The film brought a real smile to my face and contained some great footage of Eric Cantona’s goals and the magic that he helped create on the field

It was indeed very nostalgic to see this film as I could really relate to the magic of Manchester United in the 90’s and the special atmosphere it created for fans. The film also captures the politics involved in Manchester United today and the corporate greed that consumes the club and excludes ‘the working man’. The postman uses Eric Cantona as a source of inspiration to find himself and win back his life that is spiraling out of control.

I won’t spoil how the film finishes for those that have not seen it yet, but I would definitely recommend it. Particularly for those people that don’t watch football as I believe it would help them understand what football means for so many people in Manchester.

Classic scene in Metropolis

Metropolis (1927) is by far one of the great classics of the silent film era

I was fortunate enough last Friday to see the directors cut of Metropolis last Friday supported by a full orchestra at the Babylon cinema in the Mitte area of Berlin. Metropolis is one of my all time favourites in terms of silent films and I was quite excited to hear about and see the ‘director’s cut’ supported by a full orchestra.

It was interesting to see how the missing segments were added to the film, however, I don’t believe that these segments really added that much to the film. Also, in certain parts of the film, these added segments did not integrate very well into the flow of the film either. The orchestra though definitely added something special to the film and the classic style of the old Berlin cinema helped create great acoustics and atmosphere to enjoy this special film.

Vintage James Bond Tarot Cards

Tarot cards played a key role in the 1973 James Bond film ‘Live and Let Die’

I was browsing through Ebay recently and came across these vintage James Bond tarot cards produced around the time of ‘Live and Let Die‘ in 1973. Roger Moore famously used a deck of tarot cards to seduce Jayne Seymour (Solitaire). Live and Let Die is probably one of my favourite Bond films, with a classic soundtrack that matches up well. I like the way Bond made sure that Solitaire predicted ‘lovers’ by having an entire deck of cards made up of the ‘lovers’ cards.

I have never met a tarot reader in person, as most of them tend to be online or on the other end of a phone. Unfortunately, the tarot readers I found online don’t resemble Solitaire (Jane Seymour), but I can’t help but wonder whether this trick would work in real life. Watching ‘Live and Let Die’ recently really reminded me how the newest Bond films miss a certain amount of charm and charisma first brought to the seen by Sean Connery. Daniel Craig definitely does a better job than Pierce Brosnan, but for me ‘Quantum of Solace’ was too much of a Hollywood action film over saturated by big explosions and car chases. I think future Bond films should look back to films like ‘Live and Let Die’ and characters like the tarot card reader Solitaire for inspiration on how to bring back some charm.

Polanski's Ghost Writer wins him best director award

Best director award given to Polanski for his latest film ‘The Ghost Writer’

The controversial director of French and Polish origin was unable to collect the award as he is still under house arrest in Switzerland facing extradition to the United States. The Ghost Writer is a surprisingly good political thriller with quite a few interesting twists and turns. It is also for me, the best film starring Pierce Brosnan since his début as Mr Bond in Golden Eye. His role was quite small but proportionate, with Ewan McGregor taking the starring role as the replacement of a Ghost Writer for ex Prime Minister Brosnan. One could not help but draw contrast to Brosnan’s character and that of Blair facing the Iraq inquiry and having his relationship with the US scrutinised. I’ve not seen any other of Polanski’s films but think I will have to give them a try. But with the Berlin winter coming to an end, I fear I won’t get through much of them.