Contagion

Hand sanitisers out... Taps on... don't touch anybody...
Those are the thoughts that will be pulsing through your head when you come out of Contagion, a star studded, blood pumping and uncomfortably realistic thriller from director Steven Soderberg.

A deadly disease is spreading around the planet and there are six people in the game that we follow. A wife, a husband with a daughter, a journalist, a doctor, a specialist in epidemics and an epidemiologist belonging to the World Health Organisation. It all sounds a bit complicated but everything fits simutanously with the urgent feeling Contagion effectively evokes as this indirect contact transmission virus kills an increasing amount of the population over the matter of several weeks. Consequently, what follows is panic and a break down in society as people become desperate for a cure.

It's fast moving and affecting with a brilliant ensemble cast - excluding Jude Law here - who give all they can in their limited and rationed screen time. It's under-your-skin frightening too as the film progresses and certain characters you become attached to start dropping like flies. Complimenting the quick cuts from scene to scene is the well crafted sustained tension throughout the entire length of the film aided by a fantastically compelling yet subtle non-orchestration soundtrack; a refreshing change and technique that has been put to great use in other recent film outings like "Hanna" (music by The Chemical Brothers).

The idea of the different storylines involving different characters awards the viewer with a wide ranged perspective of the world situation as a result of the spread of this virus. The individuals are well rounded and all have their own roles to play. Whether they interact or not would not matter becuase each character's story is as compelling as the other.

 Despite a truly unconvincing, probably terrible, perfomance by Jude Law as a controversy seeking journalist, the rest of the film is very enjoyable. Far from being the one of the best films of the year, and if you're not into medical thrillers it will never appeal however, Contagion is gripping, hauntingly realistic and effectively fast paced.

Super 8

Something rare is lurking around the corner...
In this film's case it's the aliens from another world. However, it comes down to the fact that finally a quality adventure film (that is non Potter!) has touched down after decades of waiting.
In this year's spew of summer films, along came Super 8, the latest Spielberg and J.J Abrams contribution to Hollywood cinema. Super 8 consists of everything necessary from a summer blockbuster and does it exceptionally well, offering its audience a thrill ride of scares, action, budding teenage romance and classic teenage sci-fi. To clarify, it's no E.T but Super 8 is in that particular genre as the teenage protagonists take centre stage and deliver us outstanding performances filled with sadness, humour and intense emotional drama.
If you're one of those thrill seekers, see Super 8 for only one scene, if you must, to experience the most apocalyptical train crash ever to grace the silver screen. There's a strange perverse longing for the superbly spectacular and mind blowing explosions to continue exploding as the scene is filmed in such a way to create a level of threat that keeps an audience member on the edge of the seat.
However, what makes Super 8 so likeable is its story. Yes, it has aliens and action but there's a very homey feel to it, partly as a result of its pleasantly retro vibe incorporated by Spielberg's talent and notable technicle cliches, but the main factor is the way it plays out. Centred around a handful of kids making a home made film during the 70s that are suddenly affected with a mystery as their neighbourhood becomes the focus of the mysteriously strange and frightening occurences. Super 8 manages to blend elements of classic horror and teenage drama seamlessly helping to sid the perfect pacing of the film which suits the story effortlessly.
So is it well worth a watch? You can bet it is.
Bursting with action, drama and mystery, the film is also packed with fresh talent, humour and the odd curse word thrown in. Super 8 is a old school Spielberg esque film at the top of his game digging into your heart with alien laser beams.

With a title like "Captain America", you go into the film like alot of other cinema goers who are not familiar with the comic, quite cynical...is this another overly patriotic outing from our friends across the Atlantic?  But I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the score does one too many times offer us that feeling of US "greatness" but the film that I saw wasn't overly annoying in the slightest. There is even points when the film itself is making fun of Captain America, especially when he becomes America's propaganda cover-girl.
At the beginning of the film we find our weeny, skinny protagonist Steven Rodgers who whenever he tries to enlist in the army is refused entry becuase of one thing, his size. Chris Evans portrays Rodgers (C.America) in this film and I think his best performance was actually as this skinny wannabe soldier. He was so charming and convicing as someone who wants to go to all ends to defend his country that you just root for him becuase he is so pitiable. I have to say, the effect that made Chris Evans look the way he did in the first quarter of this film was so convincing so all kudos go to the special effects team becuase not once did I see a blurry line or anything around his neck so I was just blown away watching this film.
Despite a slightly slow beginning which is devoted to really setting up the plot, the film does really pick up when Rodgers becomes Captain America, I admired all the action scenes and just marvelled at the fact that here we have a film that just seems to get better and better as it ran, which is something many blockbusters fail to do nowadays, often having a stellar beginning....that just kind of peters out towards the middle and sometimes end.
The thing I admired most about the film was the feeling of it. It took on very much the feeling of an old-fashioned blockbuster, you were'nt meant to take it seriously but you were there to marvel at what you were watching, enjoy it and just let it wash over you. Part of that feeling, I think had to do with the way the film was shot aswell, the colour palette, particularly in the army scenes were very old-school, slightly rustic and I enjoyed that part very much, it felt like 1940's propaganda filled America.
However, there were also things about the film that I really wasn't to keen on aswell. I really didn't like the point and character of Red Scull and the parallels with the Nazis. There is a point towards the end where it turns into something quite cartoony and silly, and I know this stems from a comic so it's not completely the film's fault but it just didn't fit with what the film had been giving me. In my opinion, have Captain America fight Nazis and make Red Scull and completely different villain, with NO Nazi parallels!
Captain America is hugely enjoyable, expect a film that really picks up its pace and just acumilates more and more excitement as it goes along. I loved the action scenes and the feeling of the film, maybe there were one or too many "the hero within you moments" but who cares? The film had a heart of its own and gave me everything I wanted to see from a good summer blockbuster.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2!

IT ALL ENDS. The books and the films may have ended but for millions of people like myself, Harry Potter will never end and it will stay with me forever. I feel so priviledged to have spent a part of my childhood and adolesence growing up against one of my favourite literary adventures ever and to have watch the series progress from light fantasy and conclude with films so meticulous in production design, that have a more complex plot and a darker more sophisticated feel.
Without a doubt, Part 2 of the final Harry Potter film is everything I could have hoped from the film. It's spectacular visually but does something that many Hollywood films fail to do nowadays, it blends spectacle and moving drama seamlessly.
Looking around on the internet I've come across people who feel the need to compare the series with other big names such as "Lord of the Rings: The return of the King", mentioning the scale of the battles in each film and each film's epicness. Why compare the two final films? Lord of the Rings was able to have big scaled battles becuase it was the fight for middle earth and the objective of the trilogy was to get something done and fight for a world. Deathly Hallows is rounding off and concluding a mystery that's been running through for eight films and there isn't much time for war, characters take the centre stage in the second act of this film and the battle takes place in the background and I'm happy with it.
Part 1 of Deathly Hallows was a very slow film in the middle, not much action but I liked it  because I knew that the bleakness of it was building tension for a climax that will deliver on all fronts: spectacle, drama and character detail. In terms of character, quite possibly one of the best scenes in the film, or even the series, is dedicated to Snape and Alan Rickman gives the performance of the film, pulling at everyone's heartstrings and certainly mine. Daniel Radcliffe who has grown as an actor with every film but still didn't deliver something truly special, gives it all in this final film. His performance is subtle but layered and there are moments where all emotion and the weight of this film falls on his shoulders and he totally pulls of off which would be a challenge for any actor to achieve.
Neville is given the perfect role in this film where he proves to the audience that he belongs in Gryffindor house, Ron and Hermione share a long awaited moment in a cute way but there is a part of me that wishes some of the most loved characters were given the send off they deserved instead of just seeing them dead against the ruins.

Overall, I highly, highly loved this film. Merged with Part 1, this would by far be the best in the series and it defintely is a well done final film and satisfying conclusion.

Thor 3D

Saw this film last night as a last minute decision really. It's been out for weeks and it was never a priority to be seen but it was seen anyway for various reasons.
Anyway, we have Thor! God of Thunder! I didn't really know much about Thor going into it really, never read the comics (never touched a comic really) so this new Marvel film was completely knew to me and you know what...

I enjoyed it.

And that is what is important. How can I judge this film for being anything more than it's meant to be except entertaining? I don't know what the comic fans think, but this film certainly looked cool.

The story plays out a little like this, we have two sons of the great King of Asgard (played wonderfully by Anthony Hopkins), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston). When the Frost Giants (the enemies) mysteriously manage to enter Asgard and attempt to steal back their power, Thor is enraged and travels to Jotenheim to confront and battle the Frost Giant leader, damaging the fragile truce between them and his father. Angry, Thor's father takes away Thor's powers and banishes him to Earth. There he meets Jane (Natalie Portman), a scientist and her friends. How does he get back to Earth? ....watch and find out...
So the film's effects are really good. All the costumes are great and it's very humorous, to be expected as it's directed by Kenneth Brannagh. I read somewhere that they did a really good job of translating this to film becuase the dialogue from the comic could seem pretty laughable if executed poorly. But it was perfect from what I could see. All kudos go to Brannagh, after all, he is the shakespeare guy and he knows probably how to handle a bit of Thor dialogue.
Now, Chris Hemsworth was excellant. He was so bloody charming! He had all the women in the cinema weak in the knees, butterflies in the stomach whenever he smiled.  He was so charismatic and you could just sense his enjoyment as he played the role.
British actor Tom Hiddleston was very good as the quiet, mysterious, sneeky little brother. Sometimes however, I could sense a little over acting a little towards the end but that might just be me being picky.
A few complaints was that the movie feeled a bit too rushed for me. Despite having quite a straight forward plot, there was a lot of background and exposition to get through and the introducing of the characters that are important for the film. Another complaint would be Natalie Portman's character. We all know how much of a wonderful actress she is but her role seemed pretty uneccessary for this film except to provide a bit of fluff. I'd say the 3D was average, it wasn't really needed to be honest. But I'd give it credit for the fact that it wasn't tacky, in-your-face 3D.

Overall, worth seeing for a bit of fun and Hollywood entertainment. Don't bother splashing out the extra ten quid for 3D glasses if you bring your family along though.

***

Exam Week

Just why? Why? Why? Why?

The exams sure don't feel to to daunting (yet) but I know time is rolling fast and they will be. I'm revising hard and this weekend I hope to get myself organised and make my revision timetable for the half term week to come. But, good news, on Tuesday during exam week, I've managed to qualify for Middlesex Athletics competition where I'm representing Harrow for Long Jump.  I know I won't qualify any further but it's worth a try and it's quite an achievement that I've got this far anyway.

Anyway, the school does everything to get you in the mindset of exams. It's quite annoying to be honest and we've had three assemblies this week on stress and exam tactics and when it's repeated again and again it just feels all to much to the point where you head could explode and you've just had enough and it just doesn't help anymore.

Good luck to all exam students, GCSE and A-Level students... Just think, by the end of this term in a few weeks it's going to all be over and on that Friday in two weeks my friends are making our way to Indulge, a great new desert lounge which has just opened in Pinner.

There are so many things I want to do after the exams, just relax and relax and go to the cinema and pretty much relax and hope that my grades aren't bad enough for my parents to loose complete faith in me. Good luck, everyone.

Hanna

Saw this film two weeks ago, I know its really late but I've been busy lately with school...stuff...*grumbles*.
Okay, so this film is pretty much my fantasy personality on screen. Hanna is everything any teenage girl would dream of being. She's smart, fiesty and best of all, knows how to tackle and put down groups of testerone heavy men. She's played by the incredibly talented Saoirse Ronan whose name I only recently learned to pronouce; (ser-sha) Ronan!
The film starts out with Hanna and her father (Erik Bana) living a low profile in the middle of a snowy landscape in Germany. In the first few minutes we are given an insight into Hanna's way of life and the intense training that went into making her what she is now. She's designed to be less human than others for reasons you find out later...(oops). Then Cate Blanchett comes in playing the bad woman who is of course after her aided by a bunch of camp hitmen.
There isn't really much of a story but what makes it great is the character piece it is. Hanna just really wants to be a normal girl and to tell the truth, I think we all would if we were being persued day and night by people that want nothing good to do with you. Further into the film she comes across a British family on a holiday and eventually befriends the spunky teenage daughter. The family was a perfect way of illustrating exactly what Hanna desires, a normal family and to experience the pleasures of the world for once in her life.
It's very original in the way it was translated onto screen. The film is incredibly stylish and beautiful to look at, especially Ronan who has one of the most fascinating faces currently on the silver screen. She's beautiful, not in that conventional way, but she emotes so well and manages to keep it relatively understated which is remarkable.
Now, there is one action sequence that needs a mention involving Erik Bana in a sort of underpass thing which is just so incredibly cool. It was done all in one shot where he takes out about a dozen men! It's one of the coolest action scenes since that epic strobe light scene in Kick Ass.

The only complaints have to be the way this film is finished. The ending could've have been better but I only think this is because I felt it ended too soon and they could have found a better way to conclude the story then give a great film a slightly rushed ending.

Anyway, go and see it. It is well worth it.

****

"Birdsong" By Sebastian Faulks

Okay, so I recently finished this book, like what? Last week, I think. I just want to take this opportunity to say that I have never have cried when finishing a book, not even after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows! The thing is, it wasn't even a sad ending, well, it was incredibly bittersweet I'll say that. I juat want to apologise for this mega long review, it was neccessary!
It's 1910 and the book begins with our twenty year old protagonist Stephen Wraysford arriving at the house of the Azaires, the family he is to stay with during the time he was given to work in his benefactor's textile factory. He explores northern French life and gets to know the Azaire family while becoming increasingly curious about Azaire's wife, Isabelle. The two eventually fall in love and have a doomed affair which leads to them running away, tearing the Azaire's apart. However, once Isabelle realises she is pregnant with Stephen's child she leaves him without a word. Flashforward six years and we're in the middle of the First World War, we are taken along Stephen's perilous journey to get through the war and his complicated relationships with the soldiers around him. While the war is continuing we are often taken forward to another generation, 1978. Here we are introduced to Elizabeth who is moved by information she has found out about the First World War and goes to all lengths to find out every piece of information she can about her grandfather.

It seems that the book jumps around a bit, it does. But the story is so satisfying so this doesn't present itself as a issue becuase the charcters are so brilliantly handled. Stephen comes to France, a young yet very serious man. He is often described to stare a lot, and come across as quite an imposing figure yet he doesn't really say very much or express himself often which is what made him so compelling for me to read about. No one is ever sure about what is running through his head and even Isabelle whom remains the first woman he ever loved was uncertain about him. During the war, the soldiers consider him mad and strange because of his resilience and determination to stay alive and get through the war despite his passionate hatred for it. But that is what I think the book is, he is a strange character and throughout the novel you realise that Stephen doesn't really understand himself and the war acts as a catalyst for him to find himself amongst his heartbreak (Isabelle) which has turned him cold and his humble beginnings in life. It's a search to find that sympathy, care and tenderness again that he desperately needs (MILD SPOILER!!!) and eventually finds with Jeanne, Isabelle's sister which arguably makes her the heroine of the novel.

The romance at the beginning moved me, I'm not going to lie. It was a goooood hundred pages or so and normally I can find romance quite difficult to read becuase sometimes it can come across as too soppy or too detailed when describing emotions and feelings where it just reaches the point of repetition which can often be tedious. But this was perfect becuase you were sometimes given insights to how the characters were feeling but you were never fed what was running through their heads, you knew it was passionate, that was certainly made edvident from their first time of making love together moments after Stephen had proposed the affair! But the focus wasn't only the romance, it was them getting to know eachother during the affair, it was the effect of their forbidden, intimate relationship on others around them. That was what made it interesting for me.

The First World War scenes have to be some of the greatest character moments I have ever experienced with a novel. I swear, reading this, it was so vivid I could've been sitting in a cinema watching the war play out right in front of me. We follow a group of different soldiers that all have certain connections with Stephen in the novel, or will. Prominent characters are Jack Firebrace, a tunneller who is unable to go on leave to tend to his dying son and Captain Weir who Stephen forms a close relationship with and views as the only person he ever felt he had experienced traumatic experinces with all the way through. The gory images that are illustrated during certain parts of the book stay with you becuase they are so horrifying along with the frantic battle scenes that manage to mention the boy soldiers who are nothing but horrified and shocked to see the reality of what they had signed up for.

At first I wasn't sure of Elizabeth and her role in the1978 part of the book becuase I wasn't at first aware of where it was leading. But when she became interested in the War that was when I knew it was going to work because there always had to be a connection between her and Stephen, it was just what that connection was going to be. I loved her moments of dicovery in Northern France and finding out about all the soldiers. I loved the gradual revelation throughout the third act of the novel so that it wasn't suddenly bombarding you with information.

Overall, a great novel well worth your time and my tears. If you do decide to check it out, look out for a certain tunnel scene towards the end of the book with two prominent characters that just had my heart sinking and my eyes glued to the pages. I heard that someone has the rights to make this a film and all I can say is cast wisely. If you don't have the right Stephen, you don't have a potentionally very great Birdsong movie adaption. Maybe they should consider an unknown actor so people will be interested to know more about the character than be thinking about something else they've seen him in.

All I can say is, read it.

*****

Journey to The Front

Probably one of the best (and most depressing) school trip I've ever been to. A few weeks ago, well, we're talking about March 11th we got up really early and journeyed to France from where we took a coach all the way to Belgium. Obviously, I knew why we were going, this was history, this was what we had been looking at but to be honest I had no idea what to expect. I had been fasicnated with WW1 for quite a long while now becuase of it's interesting history but I guess I have a deep interest for the individuals of the war and their phycological changes and traumatising experiences. That makes me sound morbid but there is something just as interesting as all the artefacts and weapons as the soldiers who all had lives before the war that resulted in the drastic changes on their perspective of life.
Our first stop was the first of many visits to several different Commonwealth War cemetries. I was immediately struck by the haunted beauty of it all. The rows and rows of similar graves marked with the names of different soldiers, some unknown, but many were there. I was most surprised by the fact that the British bothered to bury the Germans but then I think about my interest in the individuals and you just think they were soldiers just like everybody else, some fighting for reasons they did not even know. Our guides could not be more interesting as they told us real stories during the time period and about the only female ever to be buried in a commonwealth war cemetery, Nellie Spindler.
Our visit to the German front line just outside the town of Ypres was when it really kicked in that I was actually where I was. On the edge of a battlefield. We were told all about the battle of Ypres and shown the British front line which was positioned to a disadvantage as it was downhill. We entered Ypres and it was so hard to belive that the buildings were so young becuase the town was rebuilt exactly as it previously after the mass destruction the war had had on the town.
The most emotional part was Tyne cot, the largest commonwealth war cemetery in the world and I was there. The rows and rows of the white stone were just like all the other cemetries we had visited but this had a sort of nostalga to add to it as the sun was setting over the hill to conclude a memorable and emotional day. But the beautiful and massive war memorial dedicated to all the missing soldiers was mesmerising. I'll never forget it. I urge all of you who have not been to make a trip to Belgium and visit the war cemetries to try to comprehend very slightly the scale of the war and what resulted from it all those years ago.
I have a few souvenirs from the museum in Ypres, a few postcards which I have now been stuck on my wall but I doubt I will need them the remember what I saw becuase my it will stick in my memory for a long time. Even now I'm reading books about world war 1. It's Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks and I'm loving every page of it.

Blinded by infatuation: Encounters with fanatics

As you're a teenager and your growing up through school surrounded by other teenagers there is always going to be a new craze. Whether it be a new Youtube star *cough* Justin Beiber *cough* there is always going to be something that all the girls and all the boys go for. I attend an all girls school in North London and as you can imagine there are individual fanatics at every angle.
I'm not completely complaining. Sometimes others being obsessed with something can be quite fascinating when they are so interested that they tell you everything they know about it, as long as it's not stupid. Now some girls are ridiculous but I'm not going to act all innocent here becuase you should see me and Harry Potter but when their interest goes as far as saying something is good becuase of good looking guys/girls, basically eye candy I find it ridiculous. You can fancy someone, have a celebrity crush, but I recently met a girl who I had such a fierce debate with on the topic of Justin Beiber I just had to question it and really stop and think about it.  We were talking about his new movie "Never say Never" which I haven't seen but had heard quite a bit about it and how it documented his rise to stardom and all. All I said was that there were so many other mega talented people that never got recognised (but the main point) is how she basically lept up and attacked at my opinionated words. Yes, she had a right to her opinion I was just shocked that someone could get so angry and defensive about someone she didn't even know.
I don't know, maybe she was just passionate but the way she defended him really made my insides squirm. Her arguemts were "He's so ammmaaaziiing, he's so amaaaziiiiiinnnng, he's sooooo buuufff!"

Okay... Tell me how....

"He's just sooooo amazzzinngggg..."

I was actually starting to question the sanity and intelligence of the female sex. And I'm the last person to be critising females, believe me. I'm very proud to be female.
Now you compare that to people who are interested in Justin Beiber for the quality of his music, his morals and what that means to them. Those are the people I fully respect. So sometimes I just wish people would open their eyes and mind and really figure out why they liked something. I'm culprit for it, I'm sure everyone is for at least one point in their early lives becuase when your a teenager you're easily blinded by infatuation.

The twilight saga: An innocent and useful series or an excuse for critism

Don't get me wrong, I'm the last person to expect to be taking a trip to the cinema to attend a midnight screening of Breaking Dawn: Part 1 this fall as many of my friends are. I've only read the first book of the series which I considered nothing special and I've only watched the first film of the series properly (having seen New Moon and effectively dozed off) and it didn't seem to have as much of an affect on me as it did for everyone else. I am of course talking about the TWILIGHT SAGA, a series of books written in the first person and films centered around the annoying teenage protagonist Bella Swan who is reduced to moving to a miserable and small town, Forkes and soon falls in love with the irresistable and broody vampire, Edward Cullen.
For me the nature of the books are completely ridiculous. I could say that approximately 100 out of approx. 400 pages of the first novel is entirely dedicated to Miss. Swan passionately describing how amazingly beautiful Mr. Cullen is but what does it matter what I think? I'm one out of many of millions of teenage girls across the world, the majority of whose brains have been hindered by the FICTIONAL handsome image of Edward Cullen. There are several others critisms I could attack these books with but there is no denying the phenomenal effect these books have had in the recent years.
Apparently these books have existed since 2005 and they have enjoyed growing commercial success since but I'm sure the majority of people across the world (certainly in the UK) wouldn't have been aware of them until the first film was released in the fall of 2008. What I find most fascinating about the Twilight series in general is not the dramatic series of events that Miss. Swan goes through but the inspiration from its success that it has sparked in pop culture since. Thinking about modern cinema for example, you can never expect to be too far from the release of a supernatural teenage action/drama film. A most recent example would be "I am Number Four" a simple fantasy story involving a guy with un-human powers and, you guessed it, trying to juggle an impossible high-school romance at the same time. But it isn't just simple teenage films, Twilight has also rebirthed the horror genre back into prominence again. Hammer, the legendary Biritish horror film production brand released the brilliant re-make "Let me in" last year, another broody vampire flick but a lot smarter than your average vampire flick, trust me. I'm glad that this has happened. Yes, it has encouraged film studios to have the confidence to try to come up with new Harry Potter's but it has also encouraged a new angle on horror films aswell, moving away from torture porn, blood and guts to character driven, moving and hanuting films that have an emotional impact but have the capability to take you on a ride aswell.

 But it's not just pop culture, its got youths thinking, particularly me. What is good literature? Could you argue that the Twilight books are guilty pleasures or do you personally belive them to be good reads? Go on Youtube and you can view people passionately battling their hearts out, determined to convince you that these books are complete bollocks or they are the most inspiring books they have ever come across. They research their arguments out and everything, some articulate and present well backed up points proving that they are only educating themselves futhur in terms of what good literature actually is and what good films are.