With Christmas just around the corner it would be wrong of me to not take a moment to get in the festive spirit. There are hundreds of Christmas movies out there, some are truly horrific - Jingle All the Way springs painfully to mind. However, there are a collection of films that without watching, Christmas, just isn't Christmas!
My first choice is a film I have watched at Christmas for as long as I can remember. Picture the scene; a young boy, sitting in front of the TV, candy cane in hand and chocolate money sprawled out around him, about to watch a film known as; Santa Clause: The Movie. Fast Forward fifteen years and every single time I watch this film I am that young kid, in front of the TV - only now its usually a can of beer in my hand!
This is hardly one of the greatest films ever made but there is something about Jeannot Szwarc's 1984 flick that just makes you feel very Christmassy - if that is even a word, or in fact the correct spelling?! If not, then I have invented a word for how watching this film makes you feel. Watch it and you'll know what I mean. I always remember it being shown on the afternoon of Christmas Eve and that was when the excitement really started to stir in my stomach, knowing it wasn't long until Santa would be here. Like music, film has that power of nostalgia - you can remember when and where you were and what you felt first time watching certain films. Santa Clause: The Movie is exactly one of those films for me.
Another film I remember watching over and over as a child is one I think many of you will relate to as a great Christmas film; Home Alone. I wanted to live in that house, with all the snow outside and I definitely wanted to create a series of booby traps like Kevin does. I love the scene after Kevin has been talking to Marley in the church and he realises it's 8pm and he needs to get home to get the house ready. The atmospheric Carol of the Bells accompanies this scene and is a piece of music I always associate with this film. Home Alone is exactly what a Christmas film should be, full of snow, full of fun and with a reminder that family is what Christmas is all about. Love it!
Rarely a post goes by here at The Armchair Director without some kind of mention to the genius of Tim Burton and this is the case here. Next up, simply one of my ultimate Christmas films; The Nightmare Before Christmas. I don't need to go in to the magnificence of this film because, frankly, I have already said all I need to about it. I remember sitting up until the early hours of Xmas Eve/Xmas Day just so we could watch this film on TV one year, because it wasn't Christmas until we had seen this film. When you watch a film and at the end you can't help but smile, then you know you have watched something special. Add in to the mix all the snow, scenary and songs - It's Christmas people!!
All joking aside my final choice is without doubt the ultimate Christmas movie. It is also in the list of the greatest films of all time. If I write the four words that make up the title and you have not A) heard of this film or B) seen it - hang your head in shame, get up, walk to a DVD shop and buy it. Then watch it, then tell me I'm right...
The film in question; It's A Wonderful Life.
130 minutes of utterly sublime film making. The film that the term 'you watch this film and just can't help but smile when it ends' was created for. This has everything. You mention to most people that it's a black and white film and people nowadays turn their noses up at that. Black and White movies = boring old films. Hell I was there, thought that same thing about Schindler's List (for anyone who read my first blog - thanks! - you know how that turned out). Snow in black and white movies is spellbinding. As magical as when you wake up and open the curtains to find everything covered in snow. There is scene after scene in this movie that is just brilliant. The stand out one for me has always been when George Bailey is running down the street wishing everyone Merry Christmas having finally seen his worth to the world by Clarence. I'd say that for me is the ultimate Christmas Scene.
As I get ready to travel home for Christmas not only do I have to make sure I have all my presents with me for my family I check and double check that the DVDs of these films are also in my bag because it just wouldn't be Christmas if I did not see these films.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night (name the film)
Showing posts with label Santa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Santa. Show all posts
Thursday, 22 December 2011
Friday, 9 December 2011
The Great Movie Speech - Part 2
After a refreshing break, a quick Clark Kent style change of outfit and a pep talk from the Tony D'Amato school of team talks, I'm ready to crack on with our homage to the great movie speeches...
Next up is a short speech but delivered in such a way it leaves you with chills. I don't know if its Liam Neeson's smooth Irish accent that makes this even more powerful but every time I watch this film I just find myself wishing I was this damn cool. The film I'm talking about is not Star Wars episode 1 or Rob Roy - I am actually talking about Pierre Morel's brilliant thriller, Taken. In short, guy has his daughter kidnapped, guy goes about kicking ass all over Europe until he finds his daughter. If you haven't watched this film I can't recommend it highly enough - for me it's everything Collateral tried so hard to be (and failed); dark, violent and as it's lead a damn cool dude.
The moment in question comes after Neeson has listened to his daughter be kidnapped (they are on the phone when the intruders break in, I won't go in to it...watch it!) he hears a guy pick the phone up and delivers a speech that is short but bloody scary and you know full well this is a man who means what he says. Brilliantly delivered by Neeson and probably the best man for the role (after all he was Aslan, Qui-Gon Jinn and Oskar Schindler - you don't mess with this chap!)
This film is simply one of the finest pieces of cinema of all time - fact, end of, no debate. The Shawshank Redemption. I could literally write a dissertation on the magnificence of this film. Stunning movie. I love every single minute of this film and there are some fantastic scenes and brilliant speeches. The one that gets my nod here is Red's final Parole meeting. Morgan Freeman delivers this speech of contempt, acceptance, remorse and defiance in such a way you wonder if he is talking from experience. Of course he isn't, he was never in jail but that is the brilliance of the acting in this scene. He doesn't take his eyes off the parole officer as he speaks and there is something in his eyes that seems like he has just given up, which adds even more power to his words. He has been here so many times before and as he so eloquently puts it, he 'doesn't give a shit' anymore. I love this speech and I love this film.
I end with an inspirational moment from a film I found inspirational virtually throughout. The Pursuit of Happyness. Personally I think this is Will Smith's best film, in terms of performance anyway. He displays here he can actually act (who knew?!) and there are some real moving scenes in this film. The one in the subway well and truly got me - which I know isn't exactly hard before you all start scoffing at me - The speech I have chosen again is a short moment of brilliance but its spoken from the heart from a dad to his son and it is superb.
So there you have it, just a few of the great movie speeches. Of course there are many classics overlooked - De Niro in Taxi Driver, Neeson in Schindler's list, Nicholson in A Few Good Men and Simba in the Lion King to mention just a few - but let's face it, you don't come to the Armchair Director to read the same recycled words you can read anywhere else...and the world of film is a vast, vast landscape and if maybe I have shown you a scene you hadn't heard of before then that can only be good!
So while I am off to write a speech of epic proportions to deliver to the next hot girl I see that will make her fall in love with me instantly I ask, what is your favourite movie speech?
Next up is a short speech but delivered in such a way it leaves you with chills. I don't know if its Liam Neeson's smooth Irish accent that makes this even more powerful but every time I watch this film I just find myself wishing I was this damn cool. The film I'm talking about is not Star Wars episode 1 or Rob Roy - I am actually talking about Pierre Morel's brilliant thriller, Taken. In short, guy has his daughter kidnapped, guy goes about kicking ass all over Europe until he finds his daughter. If you haven't watched this film I can't recommend it highly enough - for me it's everything Collateral tried so hard to be (and failed); dark, violent and as it's lead a damn cool dude.
The moment in question comes after Neeson has listened to his daughter be kidnapped (they are on the phone when the intruders break in, I won't go in to it...watch it!) he hears a guy pick the phone up and delivers a speech that is short but bloody scary and you know full well this is a man who means what he says. Brilliantly delivered by Neeson and probably the best man for the role (after all he was Aslan, Qui-Gon Jinn and Oskar Schindler - you don't mess with this chap!)
This film is simply one of the finest pieces of cinema of all time - fact, end of, no debate. The Shawshank Redemption. I could literally write a dissertation on the magnificence of this film. Stunning movie. I love every single minute of this film and there are some fantastic scenes and brilliant speeches. The one that gets my nod here is Red's final Parole meeting. Morgan Freeman delivers this speech of contempt, acceptance, remorse and defiance in such a way you wonder if he is talking from experience. Of course he isn't, he was never in jail but that is the brilliance of the acting in this scene. He doesn't take his eyes off the parole officer as he speaks and there is something in his eyes that seems like he has just given up, which adds even more power to his words. He has been here so many times before and as he so eloquently puts it, he 'doesn't give a shit' anymore. I love this speech and I love this film.
I end with an inspirational moment from a film I found inspirational virtually throughout. The Pursuit of Happyness. Personally I think this is Will Smith's best film, in terms of performance anyway. He displays here he can actually act (who knew?!) and there are some real moving scenes in this film. The one in the subway well and truly got me - which I know isn't exactly hard before you all start scoffing at me - The speech I have chosen again is a short moment of brilliance but its spoken from the heart from a dad to his son and it is superb.
So there you have it, just a few of the great movie speeches. Of course there are many classics overlooked - De Niro in Taxi Driver, Neeson in Schindler's list, Nicholson in A Few Good Men and Simba in the Lion King to mention just a few - but let's face it, you don't come to the Armchair Director to read the same recycled words you can read anywhere else...and the world of film is a vast, vast landscape and if maybe I have shown you a scene you hadn't heard of before then that can only be good!
So while I am off to write a speech of epic proportions to deliver to the next hot girl I see that will make her fall in love with me instantly I ask, what is your favourite movie speech?
Sunday, 4 December 2011
The Great Movie Speech - Part 1
I love a good speech, now I'm not talking about a drunken family member stumbling their way through a wedding speech, or in fact a lecture - like those horrifically boring Christmas lectures channel 4 love to put on. I'm talking about a speech that can leave it's audience spellbound, can inspire a failing team to produce greatness or reduce its recipient to tears. Films have produced some incredible moments of individuals delivering a monologue that leaves you wishing it was you in that moment giving this awe-inspiring speech.
Here at The Armchair Director let me take a moment to pay homage to some of my favourite movie speeches. There are hundreds and I couldn't possible mention them all - although I happily would I just figure that would probably take me about a month to write and let's face it, that's too obsessive!
Where to start?!
As a huge sports fan it's only fitting I begin with the sports movie. Cinema is full of magnificent speeches in sports films, if anything its a cliche of the genre - The usual scene, a team at half time, losing, in disarray, fans on their backs, no way back in sight. Up steps their manager, a fallen hero or a usually quiet team member to deliver a rousing speech that causes a team to unite and produce 'the miracle comeback' - This first speech is truly inspiring, it has been used by coaches all over the world before big games, it's that good. The film in question is Any Given Sunday - Oliver Stone's hard-hitting look at running a Pro Football team, for me this is a massively underrated film and one many don't rate as it's about a sport they don't get (an excuse I have heard from some of my friends, I say friends I mean former friends because with excuses like that they are clearly pointless).
Al Pacino is coach Tony D'Amato and the perfect man to deliver a speech that will inspire a team 'on the brink' to turn their fate around. I defy anyone to watch the scene where he delivers his 'inch by inch' speech and by the end not have a shiver down their spine. If you do not like American Football, or sport, I don't care - watch this scene. It is the most powerful speech delivered in the history of sports films and will leave your fist clenched with you punching the air screaming COME ON.
While my second choice is also a sports film it is not the big speech in the locker room I have chosen - although Samuel L Jackson's 'I came to teach boys and you became men' speech is fantastic. For most of the film Coach Ken Carter asks the question 'What is your deepest fear Mr Cruz' to the troubled and temperamental student Timo Cruz, and for the most the question is met with utter confusion. As an audience we have no idea what it is that Carter is trying to get out of the arrogant player and as you witness Cruz on the brink of making one more bad decision and ending like his brother, shot dead in the street he turns to his coach for help.
The scene that makes this film for me is after Ken Carter has been forced to end the lock-out he enforced for his players failing in their classes (I won't go in to the full details, needless to say this film is a brilliant coming of age story and even more compelling as it's a true story) so as he walks into the basketball court he is greeted by his team sitting at desks taking exams. A true show of unity from a team for their coach, what happens next is Timo Cruz stands and delivers 'Our Deepest Fear' (often believed to be from Nelson Mandela at his inaugural speech as President of South Africa in 1994, in fact it's not and was never a Mandela speech its by American writer Marianne Williamson - knowledge. Dropped, right there!) it's a fabulous monologue and epitomises everything that Ken Carter is trying to get his team to believe in not to mention it is spoken from the heart and a brilliant piece of acting.
Let's move away from the sports genre now and let me 'doff my cap' to Mr Robin Williams for a moment. This guy can captivate an audience, yes he is insane and spends most of his time being a crazy, funny, high octane maniac but every so often he plays a role that is truly inspiring. I could quote every line of his in Dead Poets Society as being examples of great speeches; his 'carpe diem' and 'we don't read and write poetry because it's cute' to name two. The of his scene I have chosen is one I have mentioned before and for me my favourite speech ever.
Good Will Hunting is one of my favourite films, following Sean's first meeting with Will and after having Will, in Sean's words 'rip my fucking life apart' their next meeting takes place on a bench by a lake. A simple enough setting, what happens next is, for me, Robin Williams' finest moment. I wish I could deliver a speech like this, it is utterly compelling, said from the heart and done in the calmest manner - which for me adds to the power of it and leaves Will sat speechless. Magnificent acting, great writing and a sublime scene.
Now I am aware I have been talking for quite a while here about my love of great speeches. I have decided to carry this over to another time. So consider this part one, half time if you will. Time for us to take a break, have someone perhaps give us a rousing speech to get us ready for the second half of my homage to the inspiring world of movie speeches.
Here at The Armchair Director let me take a moment to pay homage to some of my favourite movie speeches. There are hundreds and I couldn't possible mention them all - although I happily would I just figure that would probably take me about a month to write and let's face it, that's too obsessive!
Where to start?!
As a huge sports fan it's only fitting I begin with the sports movie. Cinema is full of magnificent speeches in sports films, if anything its a cliche of the genre - The usual scene, a team at half time, losing, in disarray, fans on their backs, no way back in sight. Up steps their manager, a fallen hero or a usually quiet team member to deliver a rousing speech that causes a team to unite and produce 'the miracle comeback' - This first speech is truly inspiring, it has been used by coaches all over the world before big games, it's that good. The film in question is Any Given Sunday - Oliver Stone's hard-hitting look at running a Pro Football team, for me this is a massively underrated film and one many don't rate as it's about a sport they don't get (an excuse I have heard from some of my friends, I say friends I mean former friends because with excuses like that they are clearly pointless).
Al Pacino is coach Tony D'Amato and the perfect man to deliver a speech that will inspire a team 'on the brink' to turn their fate around. I defy anyone to watch the scene where he delivers his 'inch by inch' speech and by the end not have a shiver down their spine. If you do not like American Football, or sport, I don't care - watch this scene. It is the most powerful speech delivered in the history of sports films and will leave your fist clenched with you punching the air screaming COME ON.
While my second choice is also a sports film it is not the big speech in the locker room I have chosen - although Samuel L Jackson's 'I came to teach boys and you became men' speech is fantastic. For most of the film Coach Ken Carter asks the question 'What is your deepest fear Mr Cruz' to the troubled and temperamental student Timo Cruz, and for the most the question is met with utter confusion. As an audience we have no idea what it is that Carter is trying to get out of the arrogant player and as you witness Cruz on the brink of making one more bad decision and ending like his brother, shot dead in the street he turns to his coach for help.
The scene that makes this film for me is after Ken Carter has been forced to end the lock-out he enforced for his players failing in their classes (I won't go in to the full details, needless to say this film is a brilliant coming of age story and even more compelling as it's a true story) so as he walks into the basketball court he is greeted by his team sitting at desks taking exams. A true show of unity from a team for their coach, what happens next is Timo Cruz stands and delivers 'Our Deepest Fear' (often believed to be from Nelson Mandela at his inaugural speech as President of South Africa in 1994, in fact it's not and was never a Mandela speech its by American writer Marianne Williamson - knowledge. Dropped, right there!) it's a fabulous monologue and epitomises everything that Ken Carter is trying to get his team to believe in not to mention it is spoken from the heart and a brilliant piece of acting.
Let's move away from the sports genre now and let me 'doff my cap' to Mr Robin Williams for a moment. This guy can captivate an audience, yes he is insane and spends most of his time being a crazy, funny, high octane maniac but every so often he plays a role that is truly inspiring. I could quote every line of his in Dead Poets Society as being examples of great speeches; his 'carpe diem' and 'we don't read and write poetry because it's cute' to name two. The of his scene I have chosen is one I have mentioned before and for me my favourite speech ever.
Good Will Hunting is one of my favourite films, following Sean's first meeting with Will and after having Will, in Sean's words 'rip my fucking life apart' their next meeting takes place on a bench by a lake. A simple enough setting, what happens next is, for me, Robin Williams' finest moment. I wish I could deliver a speech like this, it is utterly compelling, said from the heart and done in the calmest manner - which for me adds to the power of it and leaves Will sat speechless. Magnificent acting, great writing and a sublime scene.
Now I am aware I have been talking for quite a while here about my love of great speeches. I have decided to carry this over to another time. So consider this part one, half time if you will. Time for us to take a break, have someone perhaps give us a rousing speech to get us ready for the second half of my homage to the inspiring world of movie speeches.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Life is but a dr...drawing
There is something mesmerising about animation films. Watching them always takes me back to being a kid watching the roadrunner cartoons on a Saturday morning and things like that. There is an innocence in animation that comes so naturally to the art form you can't help but love it.
As I write this I'm watching Up, not for the first time yet still that opening has left me with a tear in my eye - and a few on the floor but who's counting! What a truly magnificent start to a film. The way it just floors you in minutes, animation shouldn't make you cry!
Or should it? After all there are scores of animation films that have been known for their sad scenes. When Mufasa dies in The Lion King - since the invention of DVD I have skipped that scene and will continue to do so because that is bloody upsetting!
Bambi's mother dying is another such tearjerker. All Dogs Go To Heaven again is ridiculously depressing at times.
Right let's move away from admitting that animation upsets me because that is not a good look nor why I wanted to talk about animation.
Disney animation is of course brilliant and since the creation of Pixar, animation has gone to a whole new level but for me the two types of animation that draw me in most are Anime and stop motion.
Studio Ghibli has produced some of the most beautiful examples of anime in history and Spirited Away is up there in my list of greatest movies of all time. This film is spellbinding. The vision of director Hayao Miyazaki is awe-inspiring. You can't help but be immersed in the fantastical world that Chihiro finds herself sucked into and some of the other worldly creations are sublime. The talent to make a film like this is mind blowing considering every single scene is hand drawn and if you have never seen a Studio Ghibli film then start with Spirited Away and I recommend Howls Moving Castle and the moving Princes Mononoke.
Stop motion animation is an altogether different type of creation but equally as stunning as anime. The Nightmare Before Christmas was the first time I'd seen a stop motion animation and I just fell in love with the whole look and atmosphere of the film. Yes I do love Tim Burton but that's not why I love this film. The painstaking patience it takes to make a movie like this is amazing. It's not just what's going on centre frame that is amazing it's the background and scenery of the entire film that is magnificently created. Christmas town is a place I would love to visit!
Animation allows you to envisage a story that is not possible to create in the real world. It's escapism in the truest sense of the word. Sometimes we all need to just get away from the reality we live our lives in and submerge ourselves in Halloween Town or mythical Japan.
I could really go on about animation for hours, I will be coming back to this magnificent art form on many occasions here at The Armchair Director.
I've decided the next time I throw a party it will have an animation theme. So fans I ask you this, which animation character would you be?
As I write this I'm watching Up, not for the first time yet still that opening has left me with a tear in my eye - and a few on the floor but who's counting! What a truly magnificent start to a film. The way it just floors you in minutes, animation shouldn't make you cry!
Or should it? After all there are scores of animation films that have been known for their sad scenes. When Mufasa dies in The Lion King - since the invention of DVD I have skipped that scene and will continue to do so because that is bloody upsetting!
Bambi's mother dying is another such tearjerker. All Dogs Go To Heaven again is ridiculously depressing at times.
Right let's move away from admitting that animation upsets me because that is not a good look nor why I wanted to talk about animation.
Disney animation is of course brilliant and since the creation of Pixar, animation has gone to a whole new level but for me the two types of animation that draw me in most are Anime and stop motion.
Studio Ghibli has produced some of the most beautiful examples of anime in history and Spirited Away is up there in my list of greatest movies of all time. This film is spellbinding. The vision of director Hayao Miyazaki is awe-inspiring. You can't help but be immersed in the fantastical world that Chihiro finds herself sucked into and some of the other worldly creations are sublime. The talent to make a film like this is mind blowing considering every single scene is hand drawn and if you have never seen a Studio Ghibli film then start with Spirited Away and I recommend Howls Moving Castle and the moving Princes Mononoke.
Stop motion animation is an altogether different type of creation but equally as stunning as anime. The Nightmare Before Christmas was the first time I'd seen a stop motion animation and I just fell in love with the whole look and atmosphere of the film. Yes I do love Tim Burton but that's not why I love this film. The painstaking patience it takes to make a movie like this is amazing. It's not just what's going on centre frame that is amazing it's the background and scenery of the entire film that is magnificently created. Christmas town is a place I would love to visit!
Animation allows you to envisage a story that is not possible to create in the real world. It's escapism in the truest sense of the word. Sometimes we all need to just get away from the reality we live our lives in and submerge ourselves in Halloween Town or mythical Japan.
I could really go on about animation for hours, I will be coming back to this magnificent art form on many occasions here at The Armchair Director.
I've decided the next time I throw a party it will have an animation theme. So fans I ask you this, which animation character would you be?
Wednesday, 16 November 2011
Expectation Vs Reality
Every so often here at the Armchair Director I will dedicate a post to one film. Mainly because the film is that bloody good it deserves it's own moment in the spotlight - plus it's my blog I'll do what I want!
The film in question here, well it's a love story. Not even joking, the guy who loves horror has chosen a love story as the first film to have it's own blog. This is no ordinary love story, as the tag line says 'Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't' - ain't that the fucking truth!
500 Days of Summer is a film that is a story about love rather than a love story. I read those words on the back of the dvd and was sold. If you have ever had your heart broken you will relate to Tom instantly and while tough to watch if you are going through a breakup - which I was when I first stumbled across this indie flick - it is strangely comforting too.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of Hollywood's best indie actors of present and what I love about his performance in this - where he plays a character which at times is worryingly like myself, falls hard, hurts hard and dreams of the most unlikely scenarios - is that you forget you are watching a film and start to feel like you are right there with him as he has his heart ripped out and wallows in is pain.
There is more time dedicated to his pain than his joy and that is another reason why I love this film. It doesn't wash over the gut wrenching agony of having the person you love tell you it's over.
I too have spent days in bed feeling sorry for myself and say what you want sometimes you just need that! So back off before you call me a wet flannel!! - which as insults go is pretty harsh I think you'll find.
There are cheery moments in this film and the dance scene 'the morning after' is brilliantly done and we have all felt like doing that (some of us probably have done something similar too).
The clever way 500 Days is edited with it jumping from the good times to the bad times is another nod towards the fact that life doesn't always work out in the easy straightforward way of our dreams.
I've not yet mentioned Zooey Deschanel in all this, and for good reason. She is a bitch in this. I am a big fan of miss Deschanel but it's hard to like her in this, which must have been a hard character to play but at the same time pretty rewarding. Known for playing the 'quirky one' in a lot of her films she plays a quirky mind fuck expertly here- a little too well which is a worry, although it seems I like that in a woman, let's not get in to that...
The scene of the film for me is where the screen splits to show what Tom wanted to happen and what really happens when he went to Summer's party. Magnificently shot, brilliantly played out and backed by a sublime tune - Regina Spektor's Hero.
That's another thing, the soundtrack to this film is outstanding. One of the very best around. Get that as well as this film!
People please if you have not seen this film, watch it! if you are going through a tough break up, watch it! Hell if you are tired of Hollywood remakes and want to be immersed in a original film WATCH IT!!
Now I'm off to check my bank balance as I'm waiting for my payment from director Marc Webb...
The film in question here, well it's a love story. Not even joking, the guy who loves horror has chosen a love story as the first film to have it's own blog. This is no ordinary love story, as the tag line says 'Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Girl doesn't' - ain't that the fucking truth!
500 Days of Summer is a film that is a story about love rather than a love story. I read those words on the back of the dvd and was sold. If you have ever had your heart broken you will relate to Tom instantly and while tough to watch if you are going through a breakup - which I was when I first stumbled across this indie flick - it is strangely comforting too.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of Hollywood's best indie actors of present and what I love about his performance in this - where he plays a character which at times is worryingly like myself, falls hard, hurts hard and dreams of the most unlikely scenarios - is that you forget you are watching a film and start to feel like you are right there with him as he has his heart ripped out and wallows in is pain.
There is more time dedicated to his pain than his joy and that is another reason why I love this film. It doesn't wash over the gut wrenching agony of having the person you love tell you it's over.
I too have spent days in bed feeling sorry for myself and say what you want sometimes you just need that! So back off before you call me a wet flannel!! - which as insults go is pretty harsh I think you'll find.
There are cheery moments in this film and the dance scene 'the morning after' is brilliantly done and we have all felt like doing that (some of us probably have done something similar too).
The clever way 500 Days is edited with it jumping from the good times to the bad times is another nod towards the fact that life doesn't always work out in the easy straightforward way of our dreams.
I've not yet mentioned Zooey Deschanel in all this, and for good reason. She is a bitch in this. I am a big fan of miss Deschanel but it's hard to like her in this, which must have been a hard character to play but at the same time pretty rewarding. Known for playing the 'quirky one' in a lot of her films she plays a quirky mind fuck expertly here- a little too well which is a worry, although it seems I like that in a woman, let's not get in to that...
The scene of the film for me is where the screen splits to show what Tom wanted to happen and what really happens when he went to Summer's party. Magnificently shot, brilliantly played out and backed by a sublime tune - Regina Spektor's Hero.
That's another thing, the soundtrack to this film is outstanding. One of the very best around. Get that as well as this film!
People please if you have not seen this film, watch it! if you are going through a tough break up, watch it! Hell if you are tired of Hollywood remakes and want to be immersed in a original film WATCH IT!!
Now I'm off to check my bank balance as I'm waiting for my payment from director Marc Webb...
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