Hereafter is the latest offering from director Clint Eastwood and writer Peter Morgan. With Peter Morgan’s writing credits including The Last King of Scotland, The Queen and Frost/Nixon you would think this film would be a well structured, well written affair. I have really enjoyed most of Clint Eastwood’s latest project as a director, I thought the likes of Invictus, Gran Torino, Changeling, Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River were all good films with something interesting to say. The pairing of Peter Morgan and Clint Eastwood would offer something that would be worth watch, surely?
In Hereafter we follow three people. George (Matt Damon) appears to be a normal guy but he has a ‘gift’ which allows him to connect to the afterlife, he worked as a psychic for a time but the pressure became too much and he now has what he considers a much similar life though he still feels he can’t have a normal life due to his ‘gift’. Marie (Cécile De France), a French journalist, has a near-death experience and this is so profound that it effects how she sees the world and what comes after life. The final thread of the film follows young Marcus
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I’d heard a lot of buzz around The Fighter so it was definitely on my list of films to see. There have been a lot of films in the boxing genre and I did wonder what could The fighter bring new, surely it’s something that’s been done to death?
The Fighter tells the true story of “Irish” Micky Ward, a boxer from Lowell, Massachusetts. Micky lives in the shadow of his older half brother Dickie Eklund. Dickie “The Pride of Lowell” Eklund had been a promising boxer before he turned to crime and became addicted to crack. Micky is coached by Dickie and managed by his mother. We see how Micky struggles with the current situation he is in and after a series of events culminating in Micky’s hand getting injured and Dickie being put inside Micky decides he needs to refocus on boxing and that may mean making some difficult decisions.
The Boxing is definitely the driving force that moves the story forward and I really liked the gritty boxing scenes, they were shot as the TV of the time would have shot them, this gave them a pretty real look. However the fighter really isn’t about the boxing.
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Black Swan is the latest offering from the acclaimed director Darren Aronofsky, apparently he initial approached Natalie Portman about the concept 10 years ago but due to funding problems the project never got going, however after the success of Aronofsky much praised ‘The Wrestler’ in 2008 he has found it a little easier to get his projects of the ground.
Nina Sayer (Natale Portman) is a ballerina who is totally in love with what she does but is still waiting to get her big break. We pick up Nina’s story as the artistic director of her ballet company, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Winona Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake. Nina manages to win the role of swan queen. The swan queen has two sides to her, the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Leroy is confident that Nina will carry the White Swan side of the role perfectly but is unsure about Nina’s ‘black swan’ side and encourages her to try and discover it. Lily (Mila Kunis), is a new dancer to the company, who seems to have also
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If you’ve read some of my tweets or my previous post on 3D technology you’ll know I’m not a great fan of the technology. If you want a less biased view on the current 3D tech debate then read my 3D technology: an unbiased view post.
My hatred though is not only because I don’t like the tech but because I feel it is currently being used to cover up the shortage of really good films coming out of Hollywood and is trying to encourage people to the cinema by impressing people by things popping out of them. I can do a more impressive version of this by standing at the front of the cinema and lobbing things into the audience, that’s real 3D!
Right time to lay in to 3D TV. How pointless is watching football in 3D? how much of a 3D effect do you actually get when you go to the football, how far away do you sit? I can tell you the actually 3D effect the eyes get in real life when you are viewing at that distance isn’t much, if any. I don’t need a 3D TV, it’s more expensive upfront, the only real content
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Since my first post on 3D cinema the use a 3D technology has begun to creep into daily life in other ways. With electronic companies doing their best to try and get us to embrace 3D Televisions and now Nintendo release their new 3D handheld games console the Nintendo 3DS, there seems to be a major push to try and get us to use and love this new technology. This has prompted some in the optics industry to speak about the new technology and it’s potential effects on their eye, especially as the Nintendo 3DS comes with warning guidelines: players are advised that 3D gameplay causes eye fatigue more quickly than 2D gaming and are told to take a break after 30 minutes of play. Nintendo also says that children under six shouldn’t use the 3D mode at all, since their eyes are still developing, and that parents can use controls built into the 3DS to lock it into 2D mode for children.
The AOP’s (Association of Optometrists) education advisor Karen Sparrow comments about the release of the Nintendo 3DS were published by both the Daily Telegraph (21st Jan 11) and the Guardian online (20th Jan 12)
In the statement
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