Boyle does it again

After multi award winning Slumdog Millionaire, expectations for his next film are undoubtedly sky high, but Danny Boyle is on a rocket mission with his latest film. 127 Hours, releasing on the 7th January, is a biographical thriller starring James Franco as experienced mountaineer, Aron Ralston. Ralston undergoes a climbing adventure in the Utah canyons but suddenly finds himself wedged between rocks and unable to extricate himself. Days later, with no food or water and no prospect of help, he’s forced to ask himself the toughest question – what price is life?

Like Ryan Reynolds in Rodrigo Cortes’s, Buried, 127 Hours is centered around Franco’s character, however unlike with Reynolds, Franco’s performance is overwhelmingly engaging, offering utter intrigue and fulfillment. Franco’s ability to embrace the character’s true emotional and physical state is impressive, each minute of the mountaineer’s distress is an individual and emotional struggle, and we become as desperate as he is for his survival.
A film based on the incredible true story of Aron Ralston, 127 Hours could, quite easily, fall into the documentary or re-construction type genre, which, don’t get me wrong, would still be fascinating, however Boyle, without ‘glamorizing’ or ‘dramatising’ (an infamous Hollywood tendancy) opens the door and invites you into the very mind of the mountaineer, presenting us with one of the most inspirational films of all time.

A film that effortlessly impresses, visually and emotionally and a perfect introduction to 2011, Danny Boyle, you did it again.

Chico & Rita

A feature film in 2D animation might not sound hugely appealing, but Spanish film, Chico and Rita, is an inspiringly creative, gorgeous and desperately romantic animated CG film set in 1948. It follows the journey of a musical-talented Cuban couple. Young pianist Chico (Xor Oña) and soul singer Rita (Meneses) who’s character, along with her beautiful voice and curvaceous figure reminds us of an animated Rihanna, fall in love over a shared passion of the Latin ballad, embarking on a journey that brings both happiness and heartache.

Chico and Rita opens with an overwhelming hand drawn landscape of Cuba and is accompanied with a fiery Jazz soundtrack. Latin and Jazz plays a central role in Chico and Rita, capturing the true elegance and Latin feel and with such detailed animation, the film has a strong sense of authenticity which is beautiful to watch.
The film’s narrative is at times wearisome, as from the moment they meet, Chico and Rita are constantly on and off, exploring the cliché of not knowing what one has until it’s gone – frustrating for some, exciting for others. Nevertheless, their hopeless romance is enough to make you fall in love with the film yourself.
Touching on themes of racism, betrayal and sex (featuring animated nudity), Chico and Rita offers a lot more than your everyday Disney. Unsurprisingly praised by critics nation-wide, the film is a stylized animated musical that I would most definitely recommend, especially for all of the hopeless romantics out there.

For Colored Girls

Already released over in the US, For Colored Girls is a film written and directed by Tyler Perry, adapted from the astounding award-winning play ‘For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The Rainbow Isn’t Enuf’. The 36 year old play, written back in 1974 by Ntozake Shang, is about exploring life through the eyes of black women. It enjoyed highly acclaimed critical success and ‘excited, inspired and transformed’ audiences all over, evoking the feelings woven into the fabric of black female life in America.

I’m excited and intrigued to see how Perry has adapted this complex yet inspirational play for the big screen, but mostly due to it’s phenomenal casting. We’ll see Whoopi Goldberg, Loretta Devine (Crash, Death at a Funeral), Janet Jackson, Thandie Newton (The Pursuit to Happiness, RockNRolla), Kerry Washington (Ray, Save The Last Dance), Anika Noni Rose (Dreamgirls), Macy Gray and that’s not even the whole cast! Each of these incredible actresses play women who are somehow all connected, yet each go through tough individual life struggles, revealing the different issues that impact women of ‘color.’
My worry is that these issues surrounding women and race are so vast and intricate that it may be difficult to illustrate on screen, but with such an epic cast and a soundtrack featuring the likes of Nina Simone, Leona Lewis, Estelle, Gladys Knight and more, it’s definitely more than enough to get my cinema ticket bought, I’ll just need to remember to bring a box of tissues…
For Colored Girls is releasing in the UK on the 10th December, take a look at the US trailer;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDWU_cFU9ZA

Anuvahood

I was recently on set with Adam Deacon, known best for his roles in Kidulthood and Adulthood, for his directorial debut, Anuvahood! It’s the UK’s first urban comedy about ‘wasteman’, Kay (played by Deacon) who begins to realise he’s just another wannabe bad boy… even less than a loser in fact. After quitting his job at Laimsbury’s (!), Kay vows to become a respected gangster… or cry trying.

Anuvahood is a pulls-no-punches, coming-of-age story, centering on one directionless hopeless “shotter”, who finds his true worth in the face of urban adversity. What’s more, it was all filmed in our very own Grove, West London.
Adam Deacon has done a great job in capturing the conventional cliché of ‘urbanised youth’ films like Kidulthood, Adulthood and Shank in both his directing and acting. It’s a hilarious take on the genre and therefore incredibly refreshing.
Starring the likes of Jaime Winstone (Made In Dagenham, Dead Set), Richard Blackwood, comedian, Miss Jocelyn, Ollie Barbieri (Skins), Linda Robson (Birds Of A Feather) and many more, make sure you watch out for this one releasing in spring next year!
Have a sneaky peak with Radio 1 Newsbeat who went on the Anuvahood set…blad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KP9d0OSUBBo

The Facebook Film

The Social Network is a captivating tale about the founders of the social-networking site, Facebook, brought to you by award-winning director, David Fincher (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Fight Club) and writer Aron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, The West Wing).

This incredible character drama is engaging throughout, with witty dialogue and phenomenal acting (especially from Jesse Eisenberg who plays Facebook creator, Mark Zuckerberg.) The film is essentially made up of a series of flash-backs which pivot around a series of intense court cases between Zuckerberg,  best friend/business partner, Eduardo Saverin (the adorable Andrew Garfield) who was 'unfairly' ousted from the creation, and the Havard contemporaries, The Vinklevoss twins, whom Zuckerberg allegedly stole his idea from.

The film, as just mentioned, boasts some remarkable acting, one being, surprisingly or unsurprisingly (people have their opinions) Justin Timberlake, who plays manipulative, Sean Parker, founder of music site, Napster, and this fundamentally drove the film for me- I wanted a place in those court cases to join the fight!

Facebook has grown extraordinarily, with over 500 million users, and whether it be to organise nights out or to have a peak at the new photos of your new baby niece, Facebook has come to play a significant part of our social lives (some find that harder to admit then others!). Because of this, audiences feel uniquely involved in the story of The Social Network, adding to the extraordinary ride.

Unsurprisingly praised by critics worldwide, and despite being disapointed to find out that the film is simply a 'spin' on the true events surrounding Zackerberg's founding, I am confident in my conclusion that The Social Network is a fast, fun and an ultimately fascinating film.

Out in cinemas now.