The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Director: Peter Jackson; Cast: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis

The Hobbit is one of my favourite books of all time, and The Lord of the Rings is without a doubt my favourite movie trilogy. Though I would have loved to have seen Guillermo Del Torro’s vision of Middle Earth, I’m tremendously happy that Peter Jackson is back in the directors seat. Adapting arguably Tolkien’s best book, with a phenomenal cast comprised of LOTR veterans and some talented new blood, I can’t wait to see what Peter Jackson and company have in store! It simply isn’t Christmas without hobbits, dwarves, wizards and one bloody epic-battle…

Release Date: December 2012

Skyfall

Director: Sam Mendes; Cast: Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Naomie Harris, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Whishaw

It’s felt like an eternity since we last saw Bond on the silver screen in Quantum of Solace (2008). Now that the MGM’s financial troubles are finally behind them, the world’s favourite secret agent is set to return with a vengeance in Skyfall – a brand new adventure, not directly tied to the events of Casino or Quantum. With Javier Bardem as the main villain, Ben Whishaw as the new Q, and Oscar winner Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) taking over directing duties, Skyfall promises to be a whole new class of Bond film – with a capital B. Which begs the question, greatest Bond movie ever?

Release Date: October 2012

Much Ado About Nothing

Director: Joss Whedon; Cast: Alexis Denisof, Amy Acker, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, Reed Diamond, Fran Kranz

Okay, the first curveball on the list. An adaption of Shakespeare’s immortal play, Much Ado About Nothing is a film written and directed by Joss Whedon – yes, the Joss Whedon: the creative mind behind Buffy, Angel, Firefly & Serenity, Dollhouse and Dr Horrible’s Sing-a-long Blog, and director of this summers tent-pole blockbuster The Avengers.  With a cast made up almost exclusively of alumnus from Whedon’s past shows, the film was shot in just 12 days on location in Whedon’s Santa Monica home during a break from filming The Avengers. Once completed the film is headed for the festival circuit “because”, and I quote, “it is fancy.” Hopefully, it will be picked-up by a distributor and we’ll get the opportunity to watch it later in the year.

Men In Black 3

Director: Barry Sonnenfield; Cast: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin

With a great story and a strong chemistry between its two leads, the original Men In Black was one of the most enjoyable films of the late 90s. The third instalment in the series see’s Agent J (Smith) travelling back in time to the 1960’s to stop the assassination of his partner Agent K (Lee Jones) – which he must do with the help of a younger Agent K (Brolin). The film also stars Emma Thompson, as the new head of the MIB, Alice Eve as her younger 1960s counterpart, and the hilarious Bill Hader as Andy Warhol. The new trailer looks like a promising return to form for the series. At the very least, MIB 3 will give us the opportunity to watch Josh Brolin’s do an eerily spot on Tommy Lee Jones impression! Seriously, it’s really quite good…

Release Date: May 2012

The Dark Knight Rises

Director: Christopher Nolan; Cast: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway

After the phenomenal critical and commercial success of The Dark Knight, writer and director Christopher Nolan returns to Gotham to give the Dark Knight his final swansong. Set eight years after the last film, Gotham has been experiencing a new golden age of tranquillity whilst Batman (Bale) has gone into hiding, having taken down the Joker and taken the fall for Harvey Dents murderous rampage. However, the arrival of the mysterious Selina Kyle (Hathaway) and the villainous masked man Bane (Hardy) force the Dark Knight to rise up, one last time…

Arguably the most eagerly anticipated film of 2012, I’m pretty sure I don’t need to convince anyone to get excited about this film. I urge those of you who haven’t seen it yet to watch the six-minute prologue attached to IMAX screenings of Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, hopefully, this will tide you over until July…or make you even more excited and make the wait all the more unbearable!

Release Date: 20 July 2012

Looper

Director: Rian Johnson; Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt

In this intriguing time-travel thriller, Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a Looper, a killer who works for a crime syndicate based in the future. All is well until he realises that one of his next targets is his future self (Willis).  With Rian Johnson, the writer-director behind Brothers Bloom and phenomenal Brick, at the helm, count on things getting mighty complicated before the end credits role. Definitely, one to watch out for…

Release Date: 28 September 2012

The Avengers

Director: Joss Whedon; Cast: Samuel L Jackson, Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Scarlet Johansson, Jeremy Renner

Having spent years and multiple films laying the groundwork, the stage is finally set for Marvel’s Avengers to finally hit the big screen. When a new threat emerges that jeopardises the fate of the entire world, Nic Fury (Jackson), director on the international peace keeping organisation SHIELD, brings together the earth’s mightiest heroes to combat it. Marvel Studios has a phenomenal track record with comic book movies, and I think they’ve made an excellent decision giving directorial duties to Joss Whedon. I’m confident that he will be able to tell a great story and juggle this impressive, dysfunctional ensemble of super-heroes.

Release Date: 27 April 2012

Prometheus

Director: Ridley Scott; Cast: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron,  Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Patrick Wilson

A team of explorers travel to the darkest corners of the universe to search for the origins of humanity. There, they must face a terrifying battle to save the human race. Whether this much-hyped film takes place in the same universe as the Aliens films or just a universe that’s Aliens-adjacent, isn’t clear yet – but who cares, it’s Ridley Scott back in space with an all-star cast. Be happy!

Release Date: 1 June 2012

The Bourne Legacy

Director: Tony Gilroy; Cast: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Wiez, Edward Norton, Joan Allen

Set within the same Bourne universe, Legacy is a brand new spin-off featuring a whole new cast of players. Jeremy Renner stars as Alex Cross, a CIA-trained spy, dealing with the ramifications of the previous films and a whole new conspiracy. Though I was initially apprehensive about a new Bourne films without either Matt Damon in the lead role or Paul Greengrass behind the lens, I’m getting more and more excited about the prospect of Legacy. I couldn’t think of a better choice to take on this lead than Jeremy Renner; he’s a fantastic actor and that has proven that he can do action well in Ghost Protocol. With an amazing supporting cast – including Rachel Wiez, Edward Norton and Joan Allen, returning to play Pamela Landy – and long-time series scribe Tony Gilroy taking on writing and directing duties, Bourne Legacy looks set to become a worthy addition to this spy brilliant series.

Release Date: 17 August 2012

The Amazing Spider-Man

Director: Marc Webb; Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Fields

Full confession, I’m a huge Spider-man fan. I have been ever since I was a kid, when I would engorge myself on the comics and cartoons. So the prospect of a brand new Spider-man film puts a smile on my face (seriously, there is an earnest/disturbing grin plastered on my face right now, whilst I write this). Though I doubt the debate over whether it was necessary to re-boot the franchise will ever cease, these is no reason not be excited about The Amazing Spider-man. Andrew Garfield is an incredibly talented actor, and his heart-felt speech at comic-con, dressed in a cheap Halloween Spider-man costume, has endeared him to the comic book community. The uber-taleneted Emma Stone will play Peter Parker’s first love, Gwen Stacey, Welshmen Rhys Evans gets double duty as Dr Connors and The Lizard, whilst Martin Sheen will get to say that immortal line – “with great power comes great responsibility” – as Uncle Ben. Check out the official website, where you’ll get a better look at the cast and the costume.

Release Date: 4 July 2012

Special mentions

The Raven

In The Raven, Edgar Allan Poe spends the last days of his life working with the police to track down a serial killer whose crime scenes mimic those found in the writers stories. Staring John Cusack as Poe with James McTeigue, the director V For Vendetta, at the helm The Raven could be one of 2012 dark horses.

Release Date: 9 March 2012

The Cabin in the Woods

Joss Whedon has teamed up Drew Goddard, the writer of Cloverfield, to create Cabin in the Woods – a film that takes the old clichéd horror story of a mysterious cabin in the woods and flips it on its head. Starring Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and some Whedon alumnus, Cabin in the Woods is finally going to be released in 2012. Expect an intelligent plot and big scares from this.

Release Date: 13 April 2012

Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter:

The title says it all…

Unlike the hysterical ‘Bieber Fever’ fans waiting out there, I cannot say that I will be one to camp outside the cinema with anticipation of the movie’s premier, in fact I’ll probably choose to do something completely opposite to this 3D debacle, like sit in a dark room and watch a Truffaut film. However, whilst I embrace my cinematic snobbery, undoubtedly millions of Bieber fans are likely to make this film a success and it won’t just be down to the tweenagers out there but sadly, there are rumours of grown men and women obsessed with this teenage boy also.

Whilst I will never surrender to what can only be recognised as the phenomena that is ‘The Bieber’ it is perhaps necessary to understand this new genre of film. Long before the Biebers’ and Cyrus’ of world came into being, it was not unusual to see our pop stars step into the acting role and vice versa; the most successful of these is undoubtedly the actor/musicians of cinema’s golden age; Streisand, Sinatra, Minelli and of course the more contemporary Bowie. The blurring between the two worlds of music and narrative has always existed within the cinema, musicals being obvious embodiment of this, but what happens when a musician appears in a text outside this genre? Can they be considered as actors with the same legitimacy as their co-stars who have usually had training and years of experience? For the answers to these questions I pick an unusual candidate: Cher. Known only by her first name, Cher is a star whose acting ability in films such as The Witches of Eastwick has been of the finest examples of musicians holding an acting ability, however her recent offering to the cinema is far from the glory of her previous work; Burlesque (2010) a film that induces nausea at best, is a prime example of where the actor/musician relationship can go terribly wrong, and why? Commercialism. Whilst this may appear to be the beginning of a Marxist rant, what Cher’s latest movie, and Bieber himself represent is an extreme commercialisation of not only the medium of cinema but indeed their own celebrity. When Bowie appears in Labyrinth or Minelli in Cabaret, their star personas are of course a factor in audiences going to see these films, but what is a crucial distinction between such actor/musicians is the use of cinema to tell a story, to entertain their audience rather than perpetuate their own self image. Whilst 2010 saw amazing breakthroughs in cinema, Inception being the obvious example, 2011 sees a backlash with Bieber’s Never Say Never (2011) being the start of what I predict to be a trend in shameless celebrity endorsements on our big screens… baby, baby, baby no.

So without further ado I give you The Film Buzz’s top five films of 2010. Let us know if you agree or not.

5. The Social Network

Let’s be honest, when you first heard they were making a film about Facebook you didn’t exactly have high hopes for the film, and when you heard former boyband member, Britney Spears ex-lover, and truly terrible actor Justin Timberlake was attached, you probably thought ‘who in hell is going to see this movie now’? Well I have no problem admitting that I was wrong. The Social Network is truly a remarkable film. Director David Fincher who bought us such greats such as Fight Club, Se7en and Zodiac knew exactly what he was doing with The Social Network, plus we have the added bonus of a stellar writing team that make The Social Network truly enthralling. The Social Network is the story of the founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg who became the youngest billionaire in history but not without legal and personal problems along the way.

4. Scott Pilgrim vs The World

Scott Pilgrim vs The World is one of the movies from 2010 that has so much hype surrounding it, that I made it a must to go and see. When I finally did, I found I was torn between my feelings of really wanting to like this movie and finding parts of this movie far too irritating. Scott Pilgrim, as one of our bloggers put it is a gamer-friendly film. There is no reason why this film shouldn’t have done better at the box office except it’s fan base is for the minority comic book and gamer fans. Scott Pilgrim is funny, sharp, well-acted and had some stunning visuals and special effects to have graced the silver screen, it just didn’t have me pining for my gamer days – just for the end of the film. Guys will love this, girls will not. Scott Pilgrim played by Michael Cera plays in a band and he still hasn’t got over his ex girlfriend dumping him, but then he falls for Ramona Flowers, but in order to be with her he must defeat her seven evil exes.

3. Kick Ass

Kick Ass is another comic book adaptation, off the back of another great marketing campaign making Kick Ass was a must see movie. The story of Dave an unnoticed high school student, who decides to become a superhero though he has no powers, no money, no form of martial arts training and generally just no reason to be a superhero. Kick Ass was pretty much brilliant – the then 11 year-old Chloe Moretz played Hit Girl and for someone so young, stole the limelight from her more experienced counterparts. My only gripe with Kick Ass was the language which was some of the foulest I’ve ever heard in a movie to date, and should not have been coming out of the mouth of an 11 year-old girl! Having said that however squeamish I found the bad language, Kick Ass was a funny and intelligent superhero adventure with memorable characters, quips and quotes.

2. Toy Story 3

The final instalment of the Toy Story franchise ends on a high. We’re back with Buzz, Woody, Jessie and all the other favourites from Andy’s Toy box. The long awaited sequel to the toys’ last adventure did not disappoint. This time Andy is all grown up and off on his way to college, so it’s into the donation box with all of his toys. The toys then end up in a children’s nursery where it’s up to Woody to convince the rest of the toys that their delivery to the nursery was a mistake and he’ll get them back to Andy. Toy Story 3 is darker and touches on some serious issues in life, but that doesn’t detract or withdraw you from the story, we still get the very witty, wise cracking jokes and engaging banter between the characters we know and love. This animation is easily Pixar’s greatest achievement and I encourage you to see this film and if you’ve seen it, well then see it again.

1. Inception

Christopher Nolan is probably one the most successful directors of our generation, off the back of his Batman resurrection, and films such as The Prestige and Memento, it seems Nolan can do no wrong. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb a highly skilled thief in the art of extraction, essentially stealing people’s most valuable secrets when they’re at their most vulnerable when they’re in a dream like state. Some found Inception complicated, it’s actually surprisingly simple and the unusual story draws you in to a world in which anything can be possible. I loved Inception because it reminded me of the way The Matrix ‘freed’ my mind to the possibilities of storytelling in film (I’m really sorry for the bad Matrix joke). Inception is a great story that makes you have to use your noggin a little, which is great because there has been so much tosh in the cinema lately that my mind has been switching off. Inception is good enough to make you think and light-hearted enough for you to enjoy it without being overloaded with mind boggling information.

So that’s it for The Film Buzz’s top 5 films for 2010, we cannot wait to see what awaits us in 2011.

Plot

Back to the Future is the story of Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), a high schooler who is perhaps a bit too ahead of his time. Coping with a dysfunctional family and an unreasonable school principal, Marty’s life doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. Everything changes however when his close friend, Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd), introduces Marty to his latest invention: a time machine (disguised in the form of a DeLorean).

Before long, Marty’s world is turned upside down as he accidentally travels back in time starting a chain of events that will ultimately lead to the end of his existence. Stuck in 1955 with only one chance of getting home, will Marty have enough time to fix the past and make it ‘Back to the Future?’

History

Script

The concept of BttF was based on a simple idea by co-writer and producer Bob Gale. When visiting his parents in his home town of Missouri, Gale came upon his father’s high school year book in the basement. He noticed that his father was class president, and recalled that he had never interacted with his own class president. Dwelling on this point, he wondered whether he would ever have be friends with his father had they been in high school together. Taking these thoughts to writer and director Robert Zemeckis, the two began to lay out the foundations of a script that would soon turn into BttF. In September of 1980 Columbia Pictures struck a deal with Gale and Zemeckis for the development of the script and so the writing began.

In 5 short months, the script was completed and subsequently rejected by Columbia for not being “sexual enough” (Bob Gale related Columbia’s opinion), and so the writers approached every other studio at the time, looking for a buyer who would make the film. For four years no one wanted to touch BttF, claiming it was too tame for audiences who were now used to raunchy teen comedies.
With BttF indefinitely on hold, Zemeckis chose to direct box office hit Romancing the Stone. Now established as a successful director, the team approached Steven Spielberg as a producer and pitched their film. After some minor tweaks to the script and characters, Universal Studios finally took on the project, thanks to the influence of Spielberg, and the script finally began its journey to the screen.

Cast

As with most films, not all the first choices for casting worked out. For a start, Michael J Fox, although first choice for the role, was not available to film due to his commitment to TV show Family Ties. In his place, Zemeckis and Gale chose Eric Stoltz to play the role of Marty McFly. After only a month of filming, the team realised that Stoltz was wrong for the part, and although it added another $3m to the budget, they decided to recast and reshoot.

Luckily for them, Fox was able to film in early 1985, and so Zemeckis and Gale explained to Fox the miscast of Stoltz and how they felt that he was perfect for the role. Fox admitted in a later interview: “All I did in high school was skateboard, chase girls and play in bands. I even dreamed of becoming a rock star“, causing him to take the role very personally.

Another casting hiccup that worked out in the end was Christopher Lloyd as Doc Emmett Brown who was chosen when first choice John Lithgow was unavailable. Interestingly enough, Lloyd initially turned down the role, but later accepted once having read the script.

Production

Having already been delayed multiple times, and going over their initial budget of $14m, the pressure was on to get the film made as soon as possible. The studios needed to see a return on investment, and having already been set back only four weeks in with having to get a new actor, the team were working round the clock to meet demands. Due to his multiple filming schedule (Family Ties and BttF), Fox was averaging about 5 hours of sleep a night, running from shoot to shoot, sometimes filming right the way through the night.

Another problem the team faced was how to find the sets. As it seemed highly unlikely to be to remodel an American town, the back of Universal Studios was converted first into a 1950’s town to shoot all the past scenes, and then altered to represent modern times. The crew were quoted on an NBC television special saying “(we) decided to shoot all the 50s stuff first, and make the town look real beautiful and wonderful. Then we would just totally trash it down and make it all bleak and ugly for the 1980s scenes“.

It took 100 days to film BttF, with the last shot taking place in April 1985. The film was finally released on July 3rd after many delays. With less than two months to add effects and edit the picture, a number of new staff were hired, and the crew worked 24 hour shifts at times. All the hard work finally paid off when initial test screenings sent audiences into a frenzy, making it one of the most highly anticipated films of the year. This claim was reaffirmed when it was revealed as the highest grossing film at the box office that year, remaining at the number 1 spot in the U.S. for an incredible 11 weeks running.

Made on a budget that totalled $19m, BttF finally grossed over $380m worldwide from ticket sales alone (not including the recent 25th anniversary cinema re-release). In addition to the box office figures, the brand has accumulated even more in merchandising, video, dvd and more recently, Blu-Ray sales.

Today, Back to the Future has secured a permanent place on various “top films” lists. Channel Four even recently rated it as #10 in their 50 films to watch before you die. Over the years, the popularity for the film has grown exponentially, so much so that Universal Studios felt it appropriate to celebrate 25 years of the franchise and remaster the film for theatrical release, followed by a blu-ray version of the trilogy.

30 years after Bob Gale first formed the ideas that became Back to the Future, the film has become one of the best-loved movies of all time, entertaining audiences young and old alike.

Fact to the Future

• High school bully Biff Tannen was named after Universal Studios producer Ned Tanen, who unfavourably crossed paths with Zemeckis and Gale.
• Pro skater Tony Hawk initially helped Michael J Fox with his skateboarding scenes. Hawk was only 16 at the time.
• Robert Zemeckis was keen to cut the Johnny B. Goode scene from the final release, however the test audiences responded so well to it, the studio decided to keep it in.
• Michael J. Fox doesn’t actually sing in the film, instead the voice is that of Mark Campbell.
• Many people incorrectly credit John Williams for creation of the now famous film score. It was in fact created by Alan Silvistri, a composer favoured by director Robert Zemeckis.
• In an earlier version of the script, the time machine was a refrigerator instead of a DeLorian.
• You can follow a specially created Twitter re-telling of Back to the Future here.

The Film Buzz Official Rating: ********** (10/10)

Release date: 3rd December, 1985 (UK)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Writers: Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis

Past the screaming children and overly excited tourists, there is a small road which leads to perhaps my favourite cinema in London; The Prince Charles Cinema. Situated just off Leicester Square this cinema offers a haven to all types of audiences, but what makes this place special, is its stark contrast to the larger Odeon or Vue cinemas.  Whilst the Odeon, just a stone’s throw away, may offer the latest styles in 3D glasses and American-style service and portion size, The Prince Charles screams character and charm from the moment you step through the door.

I caught up with the creative manager of The Prince Charles, Robin Priestly, for an interview about what makes this cinema so special.

V : Having an independent cinema so close to Leicester Square must be difficult, how do you make sure the cinema is a success?

R: Well we try to do things differently to the big Odeon, we currently have two screens, one upstairs and the others down; the upstairs screen is for arthouse, mainstream films, whilst downstairs is for what we call ‘second run’ movies, which have long been released and therefore are cheaper in terms of ticket prices – we also have events take place here, cult screenings, live music – we want to make going to the cinema a night out to remember.

V: Do you think major cinema companies are a necessary evil to maintain cinema audiences or are independents the way forward?

R: Several of the independent cinemas in this area have closed down, but this is because we don’t have the same advertising or well known reputation as the larger chain cinemas, we rely on word of mouth and therefore what kind of service we provide, what makes us different from the larger screen cinemas, and what will make us a success is the ‘making of cinema’ as an event.

V: The ‘themed’ nights are a great success here, how do you decide what movies to show?

R: We have regular meetings with our staff to poll what films they want to see, but we also take an active role in communicating with our audiences, we have a Facebook and Twitter page which people can use to request films, but every once in a while we like to take risks and show something not everyone may have heard of.

V: The Prince Charles is becoming more widely known, is there a temptation to open further screens around London?

R: At the moment our main aim is build up a reputation here, we want to build a foundation of regulars I think, and have people recognise us for what we stand for and then maybe in the future who knows?

V: What would you personally recommend our Film Buzz readers to watch?

R: At the moment we have our cult movie season, which is showing Nosferatu (1922) which we will be showing with a live score from Minima, also Scum which features Ray Winstonen and as a special feature there will be a Q+A with the producer after the film (17th November – check site and Prince Charles Cinema facebook for more details)

Prince Charles Cinema is located at 7 Leicester Place, London WC2H 7BY, 020 7494 3654

In films such as Lord of the Rings, I can understand the necessity of telling such a detailed narrative in parts, so as not to bore the average audience member with the attention span of a flea (if you disagree, you clearly have not recognised the decreasing amount of one’s attention with the parallel increase of needless CGI effects.) I can even appreciate the necessity of the sequel in the Scream franchise, because it is just this – a franchise, nothing more, nothing less. Scream is for cinema what McDonalds is for food; cheap, fast and easy – a quick high before the nausea comes down when you’ve realised that you’ve sat through what is perhaps one of the worst takes on the horror genre – and to make it worse your money has now fuelled the idea that these films will create box office dollars, even if the audience are mainly made up by the ‘tween generation’ who do not know any better.

The horror genre however is not alone in the franchise business, in fact this is seen to be an increasing trend in cinema, as seen by the most recent Disney Pixar releases Shrek, Toy Story and next year Cars. Now realise Film Buzz readers that these are not cinematic masterpieces, and in the case of Shrek and Toy Story the second sequels were in keeping with the standard with their original counterparts. However – as much as we may have loved ‘part 2’ of these films, they then lead to the ultimate evil that is ‘part 3’; have we learnt nothing from Godfather III?

Cinema in my opinion, especially within the mainstream, has become more about creating a cash cow than creating a lasting piece of art that can be appreciated for its content as well as aesthetic values. We cannot be naive enough to assert that these franchise films must be withdrawn completely, as it is the revenue from these big blockbusters that allow studios to spend on the more ‘art house’ films – however it is the responsibility of cinema lovers everywhere to every once in awhile ignore the lure of the reminiscent happy memory of the original and break out and do something radical… like just watching something else. The reason sequels (apart from those which actually continue the narrative i.e. Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom (1984) ) reappear time and again, is because we become complacent and unadventurous in our movie choices and that is why I urge you to take a risk and pick a genre, a movie period or even just a random movie title and stay committed from beginning to end and you never know, you may find something better than I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998).

Although admittedly late, I finally had an opportunity to sit down and watch Jennifer Aniston’s latest romantic comedy The Switch (2010). Alongside Jason Bateman, Aniston’s character features in a film which takes it’s audience on an exploration through what constitutes as the family unit by today’s modern standards, and furthermore depicts how the definition of a woman’s role has changed. The Switch (2010) is a film which illustrates the increasing trend of middle aged women investing in artificial insemination in order to achieve the family they desire; whilst Aniston’s character is involved in romantic relationships, the traditional role of the male lead, at the beginning at least, is omitted from the film. When did this change occur?

In the classic romantic comedies which we have come to love, the male lead is definitely the knight in shining armour. In the 90’s, when perhaps this genre was at it’s best, my point is best proven: Rose is incomplete without Jack; Julia Roberts would most certainly still be working the LA strip without Richard Gere and Gwyneth Paltrow never looked so good as when she was being seduced by Joseph Fiennes in his role of Shakespeare. So what changed?

Whilst there were an abundance of traditional male/female roles in films, it was perhaps movements such as the ‘girl power revolution’ (difficult as it may be to assign the term ‘revolution’ to the Spice Girls) which saw a progressive change toward roles we now see actresses such as Aniston take on in the mainstream. Bridget Jones (2001) may be the most obvious title with which audiences most associate with the ‘modern single woman’, depicting an image of ‘the average’ late twenty-something/thirty year old woman which resonates most within this generation, but at this point in time, she is still illustrated as incomplete by the text and without her Mr Darcy, Bridget is doomed to a life of endless singledom, and even more depressing, surrounded by married couples.

For all those film geeks, Laura Mulvey’s theory on audience spectatorship is arguably the most well known for establishing the audience’s point of view as an exclusively male one, arguing that whatever the spectator’s gender may be, the women on screen are presented as objectified figures. Whilst this somewhat limits the role of ‘women’ on screen, it is perhaps difficult to argue against when films often sexualise their female roles, sometimes unnecessarily. A film which definitively subverts the traditional roles of men and women is the unlikely 40 year Old Virgin (2005). Four years after the definitive movie about the single woman, this film, although a shallow comedy on the surface, presents the male lead as the character who needs to be rescued by the opposite sex. Although one of the first attempts during the ‘noughties’ to subvert gender roles, the text still establishes Steve Carrell’s  character as single because of his geek/introvert persona, whilst Zellweger’s character has nothing distinctly wrong with her to constitute her single status.

Even the recent leap The Switch (2010) makes towards exhibiting the modern woman, *spoiler*  the text still reaches its resolution by marrying off Anniston and Bates to create the ‘ideal’ family unit. The reality of cinema I fear is that it is not completely comfortable with embracing the reality of single parent families, unless they are a part of ‘the hard struggle of single mother/father plotline’ (as exhibited by Pursuit of Happiness (2006) and at a stretch Maid in Manhattan (2002) ).   Cinema may be on its way to illustrating a more realistic reality, but the question is, is this what audiences want? In a generation where feminism is a long forgotten term and films such as Twilight  (2008) romanticise the dependent role of its female lead, it will be perhaps be a long time before we see a film which shows the female lead especially, in a role which deems her autonomous enough at the end of the film to be fulfilled enough to not be incomplete without the romantic comedy concept of the ‘other half’.

BEST FILM:

AVATAR - James Cameron, Jon Landau

AN EDUCATION - Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey

THE HURT LOCKER

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE - Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness

UP IN THE AIR - Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman, Daniel Dubiecki

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM:

AN EDUCATION - Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey, Lone Scherfig, Nick Hornby

FISH TANK – Kees Kasander, Nick Laws, Andrea Arnold

IN THE LOOP - Kevin Loader, Adam Tandy, Armando Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche

MOON - Stuart Fenegan, Trudie Styler, Duncan Jones, Nathan Parker

NOWHERE BOY - Robert Bernstein, Douglas Rae, Kevin Loader, Sam Taylor-Wood, Matt Greenhalgh

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER:

LUCY BAILEY, ANDREW THOMPSON, ELIZABETH MORGAN HEMLOCK, DAVID PEARSON - Directors, Producers – Mugabe and the White African

ERAN CREEVY - Writer/Director – Shifty

STUART HAZELDINE – Writer/Director – Exam

DUNCAN JONES - Director – Moon

SAM TAYLOR-WOOD - Director – Nowhere Boy

DIRECTOR:

AVATAR - James Cameron

DISTRICT 9 - Neill Blomkamp

AN EDUCATION - Lone Scherfig

THE HURT LOCKER – Kathryn Bigelow

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Quentin Tarantino

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

THE HANGOVER - Jon Lucas, Scott Moore

THE HURT LOCKER – Mark Boal

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Quentin Tarantino

A SERIOUS MAN - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

UP - Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

DISTRICT 9 - Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell

AN EDUCATION - Nick Hornby

IN THE LOOP - Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE - Geoffrey Fletcher

UP IN THE AIR – Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE:

BROKEN EMBRACES - Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar

COCO BEFORE CHANEL - Carole Scotta, Caroline Benjo, Philippe Carcassonne, Anne Fontaine

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN - Carl Molinder, John Nordling, Tomas Alfredson

A PROPHET – Pascal Caucheteux, Marco Cherqui, Alix Raynaud, Jacques Audiard

THE WHITE RIBBON - Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka, Margaret Menegoz, Michael Haneke

ANIMATED FILM:

CORALINE - Henry Selick

FANTASTIC MR FOX - Wes Anderson

UP – Pete Docter

LEADING ACTOR:

JEFF BRIDGES - Crazy Heart

GEORGE CLOONEY - Up in the Air

COLIN FIRTH – A Single Man

JEREMY RENNER - The Hurt Locker

ANDY SERKIS - Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

LEADING ACTRESS:

CAREY MULLIGAN - An Education

SAOIRSE RONAN - The Lovely Bones

GABOUREY SIDIBE - Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

MERYL STREEP - Julie & Julia

AUDREY TAUTOU - Coco Before Chanel

SUPPORTING ACTOR:

ALEC BALDWIN - It’s Complicated

CHRISTIAN McKAY - Me and Orson Welles

ALFRED MOLINA - An Education

STANLEY TUCCI - The Lovely Bones

CHRISTOPH WALTZ – Inglourious Basterds

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

ANNE-MARIE DUFF - Nowhere Boy

VERA FARMIGA - Up in the Air

ANNA KENDRICK - Up in the Air

MO’NIQUE – Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS - Nowhere Boy

MUSIC:

AVATAR - James Horner

CRAZY HEART - T-Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton

FANTASTIC MR FOX - Alexandre Desplat

SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL - Chaz Jankel

UP – Michael Giacchino

CINEMATOGRAPHY

AVATAR - Mauro Fiore

DISTRICT 9 - Trent Opaloch

THE HURT LOCKER - Barry Ackroyd

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Robert Richardson

THE ROAD - Javier Aguirresarobe

EDITING

AVATAR - Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron

DISTRICT 9 - Julian Clarke

THE HURT LOCKER - Bob Murawski, Chris Innis

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Sally Menke

UP IN THE AIR - Dana E. Glauberman

PRODUCTION DESIGN

AVATAR – Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair

DISTRICT 9 - Philip Ivey, Guy Potgieter

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE - Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS - Dave Warren, Anastasia Masaro, Caroline Smith

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds Wasco

COSTUME DESIGN

BRIGHT STAR - Janet Patterson

COCO BEFORE CHANEL - Catherine Leterrier

AN EDUCATION - Odile Dicks-Mireaux

A SINGLE MAN - Arianne Phillips

THE YOUNG VICTORIA – Sandy Powell

SOUND

AVATAR - Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson, Addison Teague

DISTRICT 9 - Brent Burge, Chris Ward, Dave Whitehead, Michael Hedges, Ken Saville

THE HURT LOCKER – Ray Beckett, Paul N. J. Ottosson

STAR TREK - Peter J. Devlin, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Mark Stoeckinger, Ben Burtt

UP - Tom Myers, Michael Silvers, Michael Semanick

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

AVATAR – Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andrew R. Jones

DISTRICT 9 - Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE - John Richardson, Tim Burke, Tim Alexander, Nicolas Aithadi

THE HURT LOCKER - Richard Stutsman

STAR TREK - Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton

MAKE UP & HAIR

COCO BEFORE CHANEL - Thi Thanh Tu Nguyen, Jane Milon

AN EDUCATION - Lizzie Yianni Georgiou

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS - Sarah Monzani

NINE - Peter ‘Swords’ King

THE YOUNG VICTORIA – Jenny Shircore

SHORT ANIMATION

THE GRUFFALO - Michael Rose, Martin Pope, Jakob Schuh, Max Lang

THE HAPPY DUCKLING - Gili Dolev

MOTHER OF MANY – Sally Arthur, Emma Lazenby

SHORT FILM

14 - Asitha Ameresekere

I DO AIR – James Bolton, Martina Amati

JADE - Samm Haillay, Daniel Elliott

MIXTAPE - Luti Fagbenle, Luke Snellin

OFF SEASON - Jacob Jaffke, Jonathan van Tulleken

ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD

JESSE EISENBERG

NICHOLAS HOULT

CAREY MULLIGAN

TAHAR RAHIM

KRISTEN STEWART

You should follow us on twitter here.

The Baftas will be broadcasted on Sunday the 21st February.

BEST FILM:

AVATAR – James Cameron, Jon Landau

AN EDUCATION – Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey

THE HURT LOCKER

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE – Lee Daniels, Sarah Siegel-Magness, Gary Magness

UP IN THE AIR - Ivan Reitman, Jason Reitman, Daniel Dubiecki

Avatar

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM:

AN EDUCATION – Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey, Lone Scherfig, Nick Hornby

FISH TANK – Kees Kasander, Nick Laws, Andrea Arnold

IN THE LOOP – Kevin Loader, Adam Tandy, Armando Iannucci, Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Tony Roche

MOON – Stuart Fenegan, Trudie Styler, Duncan Jones, Nathan Parker

NOWHERE BOY – Robert Bernstein, Douglas Rae, Kevin Loader, Sam Taylor-Wood, Matt Greenhalgh

An Eduation

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER:

LUCY BAILEY, ANDREW THOMPSON, ELIZABETH MORGAN HEMLOCK, DAVID PEARSON - Directors, Producers – Mugabe and the White African

ERAN CREEVY – Writer/Director – Shifty

STUART HAZELDINE – Writer/Director – Exam

DUNCAN JONES - Director – Moon

SAM TAYLOR-WOOD – Director – Nowhere Boy

Sam Taylor Wood

DIRECTOR:

AVATAR – James Cameron

DISTRICT 9 – Neill Blomkamp

AN EDUCATION – Lone Scherfig

THE HURT LOCKER – Kathryn Bigelow

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS – Quentin Tarantino

James Cameron

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

THE HANGOVER – Jon Lucas, Scott Moore

THE HURT LOCKER – Mark Boal

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS – Quentin Tarantino

A SERIOUS MAN – Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

UP – Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

Up

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

DISTRICT 9 - Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell

AN EDUCATION – Nick Hornby

IN THE LOOP - Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL PUSH BY SAPPHIRE – Geoffrey Fletcher

UP IN THE AIR – Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

District 9

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE:

BROKEN EMBRACES – Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro Almodóvar

COCO BEFORE CHANEL – Carole Scotta, Caroline Benjo, Philippe Carcassonne, Anne Fontaine

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN – Carl Molinder, John Nordling, Tomas Alfredson

A PROPHET – Pascal Caucheteux, Marco Cherqui, Alix Raynaud, Jacques Audiard

THE WHITE RIBBON – Stefan Arndt, Veit Heiduschka, Margaret Menegoz, Michael Haneke

Coco Before Chanel

ANIMATED FILM:

CORALINE – Henry Selick

FANTASTIC MR FOX – Wes Anderson

UP – Pete Docter

Fantastic Mr Fox

LEADING ACTOR:

JEFF BRIDGES – Crazy Heart

GEORGE CLOONEY – Up in the Air

COLIN FIRTH – A Single Man

JEREMY RENNER – The Hurt Locker

ANDY SERKIS – Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Colin Firth

LEADING ACTRESS:

CAREY MULLIGAN - An Education

SAOIRSE RONAN - The Lovely Bones

GABOUREY SIDIBE - Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

MERYL STREEP – Julie & Julia

AUDREY TAUTOU – Coco Before Chanel

Carey Mulligan

SUPPORTING ACTOR:

ALEC BALDWIN – It’s Complicated

CHRISTIAN McKAY – Me and Orson Welles

ALFRED MOLINA – An Education

STANLEY TUCCI – The Lovely Bones

CHRISTOPH WALTZ – Inglourious Basterds

Christain Mckay

SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

ANNE-MARIE DUFF – Nowhere Boy

VERA FARMIGA – Up in the Air

ANNA KENDRICK – Up in the Air

MO’NIQUE – Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS – Nowhere Boy

Kristin Scott Thomas

MUSIC:

AVATAR – James Horner

CRAZY HEART - T-Bone Burnett, Stephen Bruton

FANTASTIC MR FOX – Alexandre Desplat

SEX & DRUGS & ROCK & ROLL – Chaz Jankel

UP – Michael Giacchino

Crazy Heart

CINEMATOGRAPHY

AVATAR – Mauro Fiore

DISTRICT 9 – Trent Opaloch

THE HURT LOCKER - Barry Ackroyd

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS – Robert Richardson

THE ROAD – Javier Aguirresarobe

The Hurt Locker

EDITING

AVATAR - Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron

DISTRICT 9 – Julian Clarke

THE HURT LOCKER - Bob Murawski, Chris Innis

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS - Sally Menke

UP IN THE AIR - Dana E. Glauberman

Up in the Air

PRODUCTION DESIGN

AVATAR – Rick Carter, Robert Stromberg, Kim Sinclair

DISTRICT 9 – Philip Ivey, Guy Potgieter

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE – Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS – Dave Warren, Anastasia Masaro, Caroline Smith

INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS – David Wasco, Sandy Reynolds Wasco

The Young Victoria

COSTUME DESIGN

BRIGHT STAR – Janet Patterson

COCO BEFORE CHANEL – Catherine Leterrier

AN EDUCATION – Odile Dicks-Mireaux

A SINGLE MAN – Arianne Phillips

THE YOUNG VICTORIA – Sandy Powell

SOUND

AVATAR - Christopher Boyes, Gary Summers, Andy Nelson, Tony Johnson, Addison Teague

DISTRICT 9 – Brent Burge, Chris Ward, Dave Whitehead, Michael Hedges, Ken Saville

THE HURT LOCKER – Ray Beckett, Paul N. J. Ottosson

STAR TREK – Peter J. Devlin, Andy Nelson, Anna Behlmer, Mark Stoeckinger, Ben Burtt

UP – Tom Myers, Michael Silvers, Michael Semanick

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

AVATAR – Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum, Richard Baneham, Andrew R. Jones

DISTRICT 9 – Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, Matt Aitken

HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE – John Richardson, Tim Burke, Tim Alexander, Nicolas Aithadi

THE HURT LOCKER – Richard Stutsman

STAR TREK – Roger Guyett, Russell Earl, Paul Kavanagh, Burt Dalton

Star Trek

MAKE UP & HAIR

COCO BEFORE CHANEL – Thi Thanh Tu Nguyen, Jane Milon

AN EDUCATION – Lizzie Yianni Georgiou

THE IMAGINARIUM OF DOCTOR PARNASSUS - Sarah Monzani

NINE – Peter ‘Swords’ King

THE YOUNG VICTORIA – Jenny Shircore

SHORT ANIMATION

THE GRUFFALO – Michael Rose, Martin Pope, Jakob Schuh, Max Lang

THE HAPPY DUCKLING – Gili Dolev

MOTHER OF MANY – Sally Arthur, Emma Lazenby

The Gruffalo

SHORT FILM

14 – Asitha Ameresekere

I DO AIR – James Bolton, Martina Amati

JADE – Samm Haillay, Daniel Elliott

MIXTAPE – Luti Fagbenle, Luke Snellin

OFF SEASON - Jacob Jaffke, Jonathan van Tulleken

ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD

JESSE EISENBERG

NICHOLAS HOULT

CAREY MULLIGAN

TAHAR RAHIM

KRISTEN STEWART

Jesse Eisenberg, Nicholas Hoult, Carey Mulligan, Tahar Rahim & Kristen Stewart

So The Baftas 2010 looks set to be an interesting ceremony, we’re hoping Carey Mulligan get’s the Rising Star Award, An Education wins Outstanding British Film. We think most definitely Avatar will win something and we’re liking The Gruffalo to win Short Animation. So who’s your choice? Let us know below.

You should follow us on twitter here.

Prior to the massively awaited Oscars on 22nd February, look what we found circulating web-space: a list of the “Anti-Oscars” - awards honouring the worst actors, actresses, screen-writers, directors and films this past year.

WORST PICTURE

Disaster Movie
The Happening
The Hottie and the Nottie
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
The Love Guru
Meet the Spartans

WORST ACTOR

Larry the Cable Guy, Witless Protection
Eddie Murphy, Meet Dave
Mike Myers, The Love Guru
Al Pacino, 88 Minutes and Righteous Kill
Mark Wahlberg, The Happening and Max Payne

WORST ACTRESS

Jessica Alba, The Eye and The Love Guru
The cast of The Women (Annette Bening, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Meg Ryan)
Cameron Diaz, What Happens in Vegas
Paris Hilton, The Hottie and the Nottie
Kate Hudson, Fools’ Gold and My Best Friend’s Girl

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Uwe Boll (as himself), Uwe Boll’s Postal
Pierce Brosnan, Mamma Mia!
Ben Kingsley, The Love Guru and The Wackness
Burt Reynolds, Deal and In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
Verne Troyer, The Love Guru and Uwe Boll’s Postal

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Carmen Electra, Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans
Paris Hilton, Repo: The Genetic Opera
Kim Kardashian, Disaster Movie
Jenny McCarthy, Witless Protection
Leelee Sobieski, 88 Minutes and In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale

WORST SCREEN COUPLE

Uwe Boll and Any Actor, Camera or Screenplay
Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, What Happens in Vegas
Paris Hilton and either Christin Lakin or Joel David Moore, The Hottie and the Nottie
Larry the Cable Guy and Jenny McCarthy, Witless Protection
Eddie Murphy and Eddie Murphy, Meet Dave

WORST PREQUEL, REMAKE, RIP-OFF OR SEQUEL

The Day the Earth Blowed Up Real Good
Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Speed Racer
Star Wars: The Clone Wars

WORST DIRECTOR

Uwe Boll, 1968: Tunnel Rats, In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale and Uwe Boll’s Postal
Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans
Tom Putnam, The Hottie and the Nottie
Marco Schnabel, The Love Guru
M. Night Shyamalan, The Happening

WORST SCREENPLAY

Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans
The Happening
The Hottie and the Nottie
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale
The Love Guru

WORST CAREER ACHIEVEMENT
Uwe Boll

I’ve been unfortunate enough to have seen The Hottie and the Nottie – which was tragically appalling – an insult to film itself. In between guffawing at Paris’ apparent attempt at acting, I was cringing for her co-star Joel Moore, poor girl.

How unfortunate have you been? How many of these Anti-Oscar winning films have you seen?

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