Black Swan

When I saw the trailer for this movie, my first impression was that it would be some depressing underdog movie about overcoming all odds. The Rocky Balboa for the female audience with a touch of lesbianism to keep the chaps happy. It was perhaps because of this snap judgment that it took some persuasion for me to see this movie. I can not emphasis enough how wrong I was. There is a reason it nominated for a list of awards as long as my coursework to-do list, and why IMDB has it placed in the top 250 movies of all time. It is spectacular, and nothing will prepare you for what you will see in that cinema. Even if you read a whole host of spoilers you will still sit gob-smacked from start to finish. If you have have yet to see this, read no further, and book a ticket for your nearest cinema for the soonest showing. Despite being out for several weeks now, the cinema tonight was still sold out, and a massive queue had formed for the following show.

This story is about a ballerina, aspiring for perfection and longing for the legendary role of the Swan Queen. She is an innocent thing, with a room filled with stuffed toys in a flat shared with her slightly unhinged, overbearing mother. She is perfect for the White Swan, her company leader tells her, but what about her transformation into the Black Swan? Even early on one could guess how this story will go, yet sitting there watching it unfold before you is still breath taking. It's as if you sit behind our characters eyes, never knowing what is reality and what is her imagination. As she slowly breaks down, becoming this other version of herself things get weirder and weirder, and that is no understatement. By the end I was hanging off the edge of my seat, hand over mouth, not even daring to blink.

What impressed me more than the perfect performances of the actors, the choreography and the incredible story telling; was the camera work. It always seemed to be in the perfect place. A still could be taken from each frame of the dance performances to give a beautiful poster. The visual effects at the end were utterly surprising, yet worked so well. The animation was a piece of art in itself. If I was in the habit of rating movies, I would certainly give this a 10/10. The only movie I could compare this to, is Fight Club, as strange as that may sound.

And yes, there is a lesbian love scene, so ladies I suggest you casually drop this into conversation before asking the boyfriend to take you to see this. ;) 

Outcasts, BBC1 Monday 9pm

From me there is a giant welcome to the new Science Fiction drama on BBC1 this week. I am an avid lover of the genre and in my opinion there is not enough of it on the TV. With the largest show of its kind being aimed more at children (though I am a massive Doctor Who fan particularly with Moffat at the helm) it is refreshing to see something for us semi-grown ups.

This show got off to a great start. It combined stunning visuals, particularly nice work on the the out of space shots; dark government conspiracies and deep character development. It introduces the citizens of Fort Hope, a settlement of humans who have escaped the destruction of Earth and set up a new home on the planet of Carpathia. But already we see that things aren't all as they should be. There are rebellious factions who want to start new settlements, a government who seemingly spies on their subjects and what exactly did happen to Earth and where did all the other transports go?

Looks exciting to me. I can't wait until the next installment and I can not recommend this enough.

Movies of January

On the first of every month I plan to list and write one line reviews on every movie I have seen last month. I have one or two from December in this list as it predates the start of this blog.

December 

• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1

Visual Effects insanely good, particularly the skin of the house elves. Not the best Harry Potter movie, it lacked action, and definitely felt like a set up movie to Part Two, but this is primarily due to the slow start of the book more than the film itself. Amazing performances by the main cast. It's amazing how they have grown.

• Unstoppable 

Very tense, oddly enjoyable. The characters felt real so you really cared what happened to them. Great performances throughout.

• Megamind 3D

Truly hilarious. I laughed a full on belly laugh most of the way through.

• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Dawn Treader (x2)

So good I saw it twice. Amazing in 2D, spectacular in 3D. Can't wait for the next installment.

• Meet the Fockers: Little Fockers

A very funny third part to the story. If you loved the first two, you'll love this.

• Gulliver's Travels

Certainly funny, Jack Black gives his usual hilarious performance. The effects look really good, I need to find out exactly how they did them! Enjoyable, but a shame that I had seen most of the movie already in commercials.

January  

• Tron Legacy 

I don't come from the generation of the original Tron movie, but I realise it has a cult status. I watched the original before seeing this, and I honestly think that they have done it justice. The graphics have been brought right up to date, whilst managing to stay true to the originals. All the major Tron landmarks were seen, and the story was an interesting follow on.

• Season of the Witch

I went to see this primarily because from the trailer it looked like an Assassins Creed movie. It is not.I did enjoy it though, and for most who enjoy the medieval action adventure will enjoy this. Great performances from the cast, particularly Robert Sheehan from Misfits. When he first appeared on screen I thought he was to be the comic relief, but he pulled off a straight role brilliantly.

• 127 Hours (x2)

Intense, terrifying, truly brilliant. I love Danny Boyle, I love this movie, and I want this on dvd.

• The Green Hornet 

I'm not sure as to why it needed to be in 3D, other than for the incredible closing credits. It's probably one to see in 2D. A funny action comedy, exactly what you would expect from Seth Rogen. I have seen the original TV series (though not the comic) and may never accept anyone in the role of Kato other than Bruce Lee, but I did thoroughly enjoy this movie.

• The Dilemma

Everybody's nightmare scenario. Do you tell your best friend that you saw their spouse snogging someone else? There is no correct answer for this, and Vince Vaughn spends 111 minutes trying to work this out. Not my favourite movie. I found it oddly tense and so couldn't fully enjoy the humour.

• Tangled 2D

A very funny and enjoyable movie from Disney. There was singing, dancing, lots of running around and a smattering of romance. I loved this, it brought out the child in me. Not entirely sure on the moral message of "ignore your mothers wisdom, she's probably an impostor anyway."

• The Next Three Days 

Not as action packed as I expected, but very tense. Great performance from Russell Crowe. I'm not his biggest fan so this is high praise from me. Certainly an interesting movie, a little concerned that it's a bit of a how too guide for breaking and entering.

• Morning Glory

Hilarious. The chemistry between characters is perfect. I imagine this to be a true representation of what goes on behind the scenes of morning tv. Not entirely certain this should be dubbed a rom com, as the romantic story is very much a mack seat to the relationship between producer and TV presenter.

• The Mechanic

This is very similar to the Transporter movies in style and execution. Jason Stathom is on fire. Ben Foster was alo brilliant, I was interested to see the length of his filmography as I have never actually spotted him in anything. It was also interesting to note this is a remake of a movie from the 70s. When I get my hands on it, I'll be able to compare.

Movie of the Month
Has to be 127 hours. I can not get over how intense a movie primarily made up of a man being stuck in a hole, can be! Brilliant.

Canon EOS 550D SLR Camera

Well, maybe I am foolish, but I ordered one of these dSLR camera's off Amazon two days ago. The current price is £617, around £200 cheaper than the current RRP. It has arrived and it is beautiful. What I first noticed is that the body is much the same as the 1000D, except it has a rubber grip for that extra comfortable feel. It comes with an instruction manual (or 5 in different languages) that gives you a quick start guide to taking your first photo, and then a much more detailed guide on all the different settings. So far I am enjoying the Full Automatic mode, but by the end of the week I imagine I shall be investigating the depth of field, shutter speeds and exposure settings. I can not wait.

So what do you get for your money?
In short, everything a beginner needs. You get the camera body; an 18-55mm lens, which is ideal for general photography. For hard core zoom work I'd recommend purchasing a larger lens; a thick camera strap; battery; battery charger; and all the required cables for hooking it up to your computer and to a TV.

What you don't get, is an SD card. However you can purchase class 10 SD cards of a decent size for quite a decent price now. I bought a Class 10 16G SD for £16. Not bad. They also don't provide any kind of case. For me this was a bit of a downer as I didn't feel comfortable moving it out of my flat without one. However, as luck would have it, Camera Land in Morgan Arcade, Cardiff had a half price sale on a lot of their cases. Picked up a lovely one for £25. Now I'm all ready to climb through bushes and hike up mountains to take photographs :)

Photographic Experminentation

 A little experimentation with the dSLR around the flat. Not too bad for a complete novice. :)

Product placement

Tidiness is the sign of a boring mind. 

The chaos that is breakfast time.

digital SLR photography

As a student interested in creating digital art, I felt that taking up a hobby in photography would be both beneficial to improving my sense of composition and useful to creating a paper portfolio. I've always been snap happy with the camera on my mobile phone, but I feel that it's about time I owned an SLR camera.

First photo I have ever taken on a dSLR

Today I booked one out of the Media Loans department at my university. It's a Canon 1000D. It's not top of the range, but it has been good fun experimenting with the settings and practicing. Tomorrow I'll be taking it out around Cardiff at the crack of dawn to get some city photos without being bothered or bothering the public.

Meanwhile, I'll drool over a Canon 550D on Amazon which has a HD 1080p movie capturing mode. It's safe to say I want it!

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

This is the second time I have seen this movie, once in 2D and once in 3D and felt it was worthy of a blog post. In my opinion the best of the three Narnia movies thus far, and definite must see in 3D.

I know the opinion in 3D is a split one, some saying it is simply a gimmick to make more money for the cinema industry, and others would argue that it is pushing the boundaries of movie making and adding new dimensions to film. This is frankly an old argument now, and honestly I agree with both sides. It is obviously a money spin as cinemas charge extra for a 3D ticket, claiming there are extra costs, though I have yet to see evidence of this. Sure it is not a necessity to see a movie in 3D, but it also true that one doesn't need to see a movie with added VFX or even in colour. In fact why go to the cinema at all when one simply needs to pick up a book? This is why I am a firm lover of 3D movies. It adds something extra to the experience, and, at the end of the day, that is what a cinema goer is paying for. For 2 hours they get to step out of their world and into one of their choosing and the more it sucks you in the better value for money it is.

This I stress, is if the 3D is done well. When I originally went to see Voyage of the Dawn Treader I saw it in 2D. I had been to a series of live action 3D movies and every time had been disappointed with how it had been dealt with. Sure they had been 3D, but it wasn't really breath taking. Generally the 3D adverts are more exciting than the movies themselves! I'd save a bob or two, I thought, and I wouldn't be missing out on much. But I was wrong.

Tonight I ventured to my local Cineworld with my university chum who had yet to see this movie. He was a 3D virgin and we decided it was about time he had his cherry popped.

There are no cheap gimmicks in this movie, and most of the 3D is depth perception rather than objects coming out at you. Personally I prefer this, as it adds to the beauty of a shot and you can experience it as the character would. The story is exciting with great pace, the characters fun and engaging, and in the centre of all that fantasy adventure are three children growing up and embracing the hero within. Sure there are a few plot holes, but if you can suspend belief enough to accept a talking mouse, you can accept those things too.

What interested me most were they visuals. They were stunning! Animation has come on leaps and bounds since the original and the Narnians were positively cuddly. There was one moment early on where you are introduced to a minotaur. His coat looked so fluffy I could have just buried my face in his chest and snuggled all night!

The pans across the ocean were what impressed me most. It genuinely felt like you could just fall into the water and sink forever. The added depth made it feel like the water just stretched out before you for miles. You could feel what the characters felt because you were right there with them. I imagine it is the closest I will ever get to sailing across the ocean, mostly because I'm terrified of drowning...

There are a lot of good movies out at the moment, and this one has been out a fair while, but if you get the chance, then go for it. If you liked the Fellowship of the Ring or other light hearted fantasy adventure, you will love this. And not to worry, if you didn't see the last movie in the Narnia Chronicles, all you need to know is there is a new King Caspian who the kids met last time round. :)