God bless originality!!

There are a lot of genres within film that have a certain framework that films are made around. In horror films it's often a serial killer attacking teenagers, there's a big showdown at a party or school. In sports films you have a plucky underdog who achieves greatness. In animation you have average actors putting their voices to better characters than they could ever play in person - I'll leave you to decide who I am referring to there, but I think you know.

Every so often there is a film that breaks the mould, that does something that makes you sit up and take note of the director or actors who have chosen to star in this film. In a world that is awash with remakes or rehashes as most turn out to be - originality is like gold dust, and when it comes along we should cherish the audacity to look Hollywood in the face and say 'I have an idea for a film...'

As I write this I am watching Phone Booth, a superb thriller staring Colin Farrell and Kiefer Sutherland. I love this film. Shot virtually entirely in a Phone Booth - what a clever title! - The film is just 81 Min's long but is a tense, taught thriller and has a real strong performance from Farrell and with Sutherland, who only really lends his voice to this movie, the perfect man to play a twisted killer on the phone. His voice is utterly compelling and incredibly sinister - not to mention he is Jack Bauer, you don't call the Ghostbusters you call Jack Bauer, this man is a legend!

The thing that shocked me even more about this film was it's director, Joel Schumacher! Joel F***ing Scumacher. What?! The guy who made Batman & Robin, The Phantom of the Opera and the god awful Number 23. Proof that even the average have a moment of brilliance in them, hope for us all ladies and gentlemen! Hope for us all...

The Indie genre is usually the saving grace of cinema currently, daring to make films that production studios don't wanna touch. Yet even in recent years those films have become a little predictable. There is however more moments of originality in this genre than any other currently and let me take a moment to mention one of my favourite films I've seen this year.

OK this should really be called; 'One of my favourite films I've seen this year, that was not actually released this year, just I have never got round to watching it until now when it was on Sky Movies' - but something about that title just doesn't work for me!

Edgar Wright's brilliantly original Scott Pilgrim Vs the World. A simple story, guy falls for the girl of his dreams - she has seven evil exes, he must defeat each and every one in a battle to the death to be with her. Your standard love story, we have all been there.

Wright has already proved he can make a cracking film, having directed Hot Fuzz and the truly genius Shaun of the Dead. What he does here is create a film that is like watching a computer game, the female lead - the gorgeous Mary Elizabeth Winstead - has bright coloured hair, in the style of a street fighter character or from the Final Fantasy series. The fight scenes are done in the comic style of any fight game ever created. The lead character is a virtual nobody placed at the centre of a out-of-this-world experience. Like any character in Resident Evil.

Yet what also happens here is there is a script (also written by Edgar Wright) that is so slick you can't help but be drawn in to the characters. We have all fallen for someone instantly, and want to do anything to be with them so you can relate to Michael Cera's Scott right away. There are some excellent cameos in this film too and I urge people to watch this movie. Immerse yourself in the film, don't take it too seriously and just enjoy some fantastically original movie making.

In horror, The Blair Witch Project literally ripped up the guide book and changed the face of horror on a budget smaller than most Americans' Christmas food shop. A seriously clever piece of film making that was blown up into a huge world wide phenomenon that I feel overshadowed the originality of the film. It was made out to be the scariest movie ever made, and let's be honest it isn't. You don't actually see anything. What is magnificent about this film is you literally watch the actors break down, their ordeal is real, that's what is scary. There was virtually no script and the directors did warn the actors that they would be subject to mind games while making this film. It is a deeply twisted vision, but just watch the film again and don't buy in to the 'scariest film of all time' tag watch it and ask yourself, before this film had you seen anything else in horror this original?

Exactly...

Originality feels like a dying art-form, it needs to be encouraged, nurtured if you like, and we cannot let Hollywood descend in to remakes and prequels and sequels and all the other tripe that comes out. There are scores of original films, ones I've mentioned in previous blogs are Donnie Darko, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Brick to name just three. Go out and experience it film friends. It can truly change the way you view cinema...