Howl

Howl
Year: 2010
Director: Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
Cast: James Franco, David Strathairn, Jon Hamm, Jeff Daniels

In My Own Words
I have a great respect for James Franco. I have great respect for anyone who tries to balance completing a university degree with a full time career. Could you imagine trying to complete a university degree while being one of the most popular male actors on the planet at the present time? Franco must have wanted a challenge, but good on him! He started acting while completing his Creative Writing degree at UCLA and he is currently enrolled at NYU's Graduate Film program and Columbia University's Graduate program for Fiction Writing. That's what I love, when an actor appreciates the art form behind what they do and continues their education in what they love.

That is not all I appreciate about James Franco. He loves to take risks. He was critically acclaimed for his role of James Dean in the TV movie of the same name, Harry Osborn in the Spider-Man trilogy, the lead male role in "Tristan + Isolde" and of course, as Aron Ralston in his Oscar nominate role in "127 Hours". The scope of his acting roles is very impressive. I think we need to give him a break in regards to his performance as an Oscar host. He wasn't Billy Crystal, but there are not too many people who could do the job that Franco did in front of the whole world. And there isn't too many people who could host the Academy Awards and be at class the next day. Kudos Franco!

I have to mention one of my favourite Franco roles, as himself in "30 Rock". Yes, I am a big fan of "30 Rock" in general so that may contribute to the fact that I find the idea of Franco having to find a fake girlfriend in order to cover up the fact that he is in love with a Japanese body pillow extremely hilarious.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
"Howl" proves that it is possible to be captivating and weak at the same time. It is not boring and not slow, but it is also not suspenseful and not powerful either. It is extremely unusual for a film to be all of these things at once, but then "Howl" isn't an ordinary film. The elements that go into making "Howl" the film that it is show complete originality and creativity. "Howl" is almost two stories in one, with the centre of the film being Allen Ginsberg's poem, "Howl". From one angle, the film is about Allen Ginsberg (James Franco) and his life, specifically focusing on his life and loves in the time in which "Howl" was written. While Ginsberg talks about his life from his New York apartment, on the other side of the country in a San Francisco courtroom "Howl" is on trial. The question is, is "Howl" a work of art, or just a work of obscenity?

The people who will find "Howl" the most interesting are literary fans and fans of James Franco. People who don't fit into these categories will most probably find this film bizarre and lack lustre. It is the biopic aspect of this film which makes the film bearable. "Howl" would have perhaps been more of a success if the whole film had in fact been the story of Allen Ginsberg and the courtroom drama been left out. You can see what directors, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman are trying to do by trying to capture what "Howl" meant to the poet and the readers and the cause and effect, but they would have been better to have left it at the poet. The courtroom scenes have no suspense, no drama, no depth, the acting is poor and the best thing that comes out of these scenes is that you find out what makes a piece of writing credible.

However, the scenes with Ginsberg are quite enthralling and the animation segments are almost hypnotising. It is a surprise to those who had not heard much about the film beforehand to find so much simple yet brilliantly creative animation involved in the film's editing and cinematography.  Franco's performance of Ginsberg is fantastic. He becomes Ginsberg in this role and masters his voice and tone. He can also be quite heart breaking in some flashback scenes, such as when he realises that his lover has left him. Franco makes Ginsberg's character lovable and brings emotion to the film. In short, he saves the film.

"Howl" is quite simple, but it is not hard to determine that it wasn't supposed to be. It is obvious that it was supposed to work as a film in two parts, yet one part of the film fails to really do anything at all. Epstein and Friedman should thank those at The Monk Studios for their amazing animation and James Franco for his accurate performance for the successes in this film, as without them "Howl" would be completely unfulfilling.
6/10

RIP Elizabeth Taylor

I'll always remember driving through Bel Air back in July 2008. Bel Air is widely known for being one of the most exclusive suburbs in Los Angeles in which many stars past and present have made their homes. The driver turned around and said to me "See that white house up on that hill over there? That's Elizabeth Taylor's house". I was in complete awe. It was the closest I had ever been to a living old Hollywood legend. Well, that's actually untrue. When I was 7 and on a family trip to Hawaii my family and I actually met and had a photo with Tony Curtis, but this was different. Back then I didn't know about the grace and glamour of old Hollywood. Today it absolutely amazes me and if I was able to go back in time, give me a premiere of one of the 1930's or 1940's movies in Hollywood any day. Anyway, I cannot describe the way I felt when I looked at that house and knew that at that point in time, she was in that house I was looking at. That night I went home and imagined what it would be like if I was ever to meet Elizabeth Taylor. I would just be lost for words in a moment like that. I wouldn't know what to do or say, I think I would have just burst out in tears. She was such an amazing beauty, such a strong woman and an absolute firecracker of an actress.

Now, I will never know what it would have been like to meet Elizabeth Taylor. On the morning of Wednesday the 23rd of March, the legendary Elizabeth Taylor died of congestive heart failure. Taylor was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center six weeks ago with complications of her long suffering illness. During this time, she was completing her memoirs from her private diaries she had kept over the years which one would expect to have some pretty interesting informations. She must have known her time was running out. I didn't want to believe it when I first found out about the memoirs, but I think I knew that the day would come soon. She is survived by her four children, ten grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Elizabeth Taylor was born on February the 27th 1932 in Hampstead, London. Shew was born to American parents who relocated back to the United States during 1939 when war was on the horizon. It wasn't long after that young Elizabeth found her way into the movie business after people started commenting on the beauty of the Taylor's young daughter. She was signed with MGM and stardom found her when she was cast in "National Velvet" in 1944. Taylor blossomed into a beautiful young lady and starred in such classic films as "The Last Time I Saw Paris", "Giant", "A Place In The Sun", "Cleopatra" and "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof". However, her two greatest film roles are considered to be in "BUtterfield 8" and "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?", both which she won Academy Awards for. She was nominated for another three Academy Awards.


It wasn't just her amazing acting which she won media attention for over the years. She is also remembered for her tumultuous private life. Taylor was married eight times to (in order) Conrad Hilton Jr, Michael Wilding, Michael Todd (who died in a plane crash while married to Taylor), Eddie Fisher, Richard Burton twice, John Warner and Larry Fortensky. She was also extremely involved in fundraising for AIDS research and awareness as a result of her close friendship with Rock Hudson.

Taylor was an extremely lucky lady. She has come close to death various times, but each time she still had more to achieve in life and her will to live was so strong. During the filming of "BUtterfield 8" she was pronounced clinically dead. It was clearly not her time though, and she went on to win the Oscar for her performance in that film. Shirley McLaine, who was also nominated that year for her performance in "The Apartment" is famously quoted as saying "I lost out to a tracheotomy" as it was widely assumed that Taylor won based on a sympathy vote. She was had a brain tumour removed in 1997, was placed on life support in 2008 and had heart surgery in 2009. She was a battler. She wanted to live and she had so much to achieve before she left the world.



Elizabeth Taylor lived an amazing life. She personified the golden years of Hollywood and never let go of her grace and elegance. It is devestating to lose her, but she achieved so much and the world was lucky to have had her. RIP Liz Taylor.

To end on a lighter note, here is my favourite YouTube clip of Liz which makes me laugh everytime.

Limitless

Limitless
Year: 2011
Director: Neil Burger
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, Robert De Niro, Anna Freil

In My Own Words
Abbie Cornish is one of those actresses who I personally believe will be an Academy Award winner in the future. And I am not just saying that because she's Australian and I am Australian. Nor am I saying that based primarily on her latest role in "Limitless". Cornish won the AFI (the Australian equivalent of an Oscar) in 2004 for her breakthrough film role as Heidi in "Somersault", and she has recieved 4 AFI nominations. The roles she has undertaken are the calibre of those which are nominated for awards, but Cornish isn't afraid to lend herself to roles such as this one in "Limitless" or in the highly anticipated "Sucker Punch" which is released next month. Personally, I believe she was hard done by not recieving a Golden Globe or Oscar nomination for her role as Fanny Brawne in "Bright Star". She was just stunning in it and gave a heart breaking performance. However, it is a very competitive world out there, which goes without saying!

When you watch as many movies as what I do, you tend to take a bit more of an interest in the opening credits at the beginning of a film and then you tend to start remembering people's names who don't usually get as much recognition by the general public as actors or directors. One such name which I noticed coming up over and over again was the producer Ryan Kavanaugh. A executive producer is the figure who is involved in the overall production of the film and handles the business deals. The main reason why I first noticed Ryan Kavanaugh's name is really because my mother's maiden name is Kavanaugh, but then it kept turning up and I thought "Wow, this guy must be really successful and know what he is doing". So what does one do when you wonder about something? Get on the Google! Well, I felt like I should have known who Kavanaugh was before now. He is an entreprenaur of Hollywood, the owner of Relativity Media who has had an incredible rise. He hasn't been in the movie industry for very long, but his list of credits include" Nine", "Brothers", "Robin Hood"," The Fighter" and now "Limitless". Kavanaugh definately knows what he is doing and I would love to know his secret...as I am sure many people do! He is a powerhouse in the business world of Hollywood.

These are my own words and here is my review.

Review
The onslaught of Hollywood action films continues. "Limitless" may look like just another action thriller on the surface, but it does have something that not many other films of this genre have. Originality. It's unusual these days to see an action film with a storyline which doesn't feel like deja vu. "Limitless" is fresh and entertaining. Based on the novel "The Dark Fields" by Alan Glynn, "Limitless" is a different look at the danger of substance addiction. Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) starts off the film as one might descibe as being a loser. He is a writer who has a book deal, but has not written a word and is therefore not earning a dollar. By chance, he bumps into his ex-brother in law, Vernon (Johnny Whitworth) who assures him that a pill which he gives him will fix all his problems. After Eddie takes this pill, he is able to absorb information quicker and his brain works at a higher level than the everyday person. Eddie quickly becomes addicted to this drug known as MDT and although the quality of his world increases dramatically, the danger and fight to stay alive begins.

What is so refreshing about "Limitless" is that it isn't a thriller based on the run from the guys who are after you (although parts of the film do lean towards that) or finding out who are the killers. It is a thriller about a fight against addiction, which is something that many people will be able to relate to. It is almost as if the film serves as a wake up call for some and contains some very real situations that individuals addicted to a substance may encounter such as not being able to pay people back for their addictions and facing financial difficulties with another party, and also the effect it has on your physical and mental health. Not to mention the effect it has on the relationships with those around you. The script is very clever, as one might imagine in a film where the lead characters intelligence increases and he obviously pretty smart things to say. However, the film itself is not as suspenseful at times as it is supposed to be. The reason for this is that it quickens pace and then slows down, and this happens several times throughout the film. There is suspense, and then there is a period in which it's intensity is lowered dramatically. This happens various times throughout the film and this is why the suspense is not consistently maintained, which is actually quite frustrating. The ending is also very anticlimatic and should have finished at least 10 minutes earlier. Yet, this does not destroy the film as it is still entertaining whether it is slow or suspenseful.

It is easy to see how Neil Burger would have had fun directing this film and the overall visual surface of the film is quite impressive. There are some great film sequences and visual effects used which are quite attractive and impressive to watch. Although some of the effects may make you suffer from motion sickness. "Limitless" is actually a good showcase of types of visual effects, cinematography and editing which are used in Hollywood action films today. New York City is definately put on show through the filming of this film as well and features heavily in the cinematography, along with the visual representation of Eddie's mind.

Bradley Cooper carries the film well. The best part of the film for him is the beginning where Eddie is rough and ragged and when he experiences his downfall in health and luck. He is so great in this part because it is completely different to the characters which he normally portrays in films. Sure he looks completely different, but you really feel sorry for him in the way which he carries himself and the sorriness in his eyes. Once he becomes the successful Eddie, it is much like any other Bradley Cooper role. Bradley Cooper does Bradley Cooper roles well so you can't really fault the performance. Abbie Cornish is charming as his girlfriend, Lindy and this is actually quite a different role for her. Her and Cooper do also have a great on screen chemistry, which really helps support the film. It is good to see Robert De Niro back on the big screen and he does wuite well in this role, as one would expect from him. He plays Eddie's business partner/boss, Carl Van Loon and he does definately come across as a character who you would love to have on your side, but would hate to have against you throughout the film. 

"Limitless" is one of the better action thrillers released this year. Neil Burger should be applauded for taking on a film which required a lot of originality and creativity to make it work on the screen and pulling it off. It is not often a book which has a story to it that one would normally think should be left as a book as it wouldn't work on screen, does really tell the story and tell it effectively. That really is something to be proud of and is the sign of a great director.
7.5/10