My top five under-rated (recent-ish) films

A change of pace here from most other film blogs - Instead of starting with my "top five films of all time" or directors, I've opted for the road less, erm, written and instead I'm focusing on films that I feel deserve more praise than they have received. Whether you agree, is entirely your own opinion and feel free to debate about it in the comments. So, starting...

5 - The Lost World - Jurassic Park (Speilburg, 1997)

I 

I should start with this - The first film in the series was one of the reasons I got into filmmaking. It's one of the reasons I love watching films, and it's one of the reasons why I keep doing what I do. It's wonderful.

So. Sequel. Of all the debated follow-ups in history, this ranks up there with one of the most, well, hated! Within the groups of people I talk film with, whenever this films arises it is greeted with grunts and snorts of derision. Why? "The plot is paper thin" and "The characters are nothing like the first film" being chief.

Well, I respond with - PLOT! It's not really that bad. The new island is a "nature reserve", purely for scientific study. It does make sense, scientists in any reality have curious minds and turning up the chance to study an ancient ecosystem? No brainer

CHARACTERS - Jeff. Fucking. Goldblum. He makes it - and the reason he has changed so much from the first one is, well, after coming NEAR FUCKING DEATH (!!!) his character (Ian Malcolm) grew up. It certainly makes a lot of sense.

Plus it has a T-Rex tearing shit up in a city. Problem, internet?


4 - Alien 3 (Fincher, 1992)

Again, another disclaimer here - I love this series. I'll happily call Alien the best horror film of all time, maybe even worthy of being sealed in a time capsule and preserved for eternity. James Camerons sequel, Aliens turned the horror tropes into action, with a great action film with horror elements (Note, not a horror. Bloody good though). Now, roll around to a new decade, and an idea. Ripley (portrayed by Sigourney Weaver), drifting through space again winds up on a prison planet, with a new threat and a new, animalistic Alien formed from man's best friend.

It's worth noting, before I dive in that this film was shot as a rather strange experiment - There was not scripted dialogue. Ad lib was the order of the day, and the film certainly had some issues for it.

However, the actual story associated is not that bad. Ripley has to not only save those around her, but also stop the Weyland Yutani corporation taking the Queen gestating inside of her. Ultimately, (SPOILER) she gives her own life to achieve this, bringing a total and utter conclusion to the series.

What I'm saying is that this one isn't that bad, save your hate for Alien Resurrection. Which is, to quote Kirk Lazarus playing Lincoln Osiris, "Full retard". The plot isn't that bad, the acting is quite solid and the buildup is pretty good. Some aged CG aside, it is certainly worth a watch.

3 - Cloverfield (Reeves, 2008)

You know what? To hell with The Blair Witch Project, Matt Reeve's Cloverfield deserves the king title for POV home-camera style horror. Sure, the monster is revealed in its entirety a little too soon (and I'm not debating that) but the ride, dear god THE RIDE! I compare it to a good roller coaster. The up bits are there, there's a loop-de-loop and of course a big drop at the end

It's certainly a great comment on a post 9/11 world too in my opinion, and how we have been forced to view this "enemy by terrorism". A giant, destructive organism that, simply put, cannot be stopped because, well, as V for Vendetta taught us, ideas are bulletproof. This film is so incredibly worthy of analysis, and debate of what the monster is an analogy for. 
So the next person to whine about "shaky camera" bollocks gets a smack.

2 - Let me in (Reeves, 2010)

Oh, Mr Reeves, my heart aches for you. Just like Cloverfield, his remake of Let the right one in split critics down the middle. While it catches the macabre and romantic story, the reshuffling of certain events and the opening scene flashback annoyed fans of the original.

I hate to be that guy, but come on, a remake is NOT going to be the same as the original.

Chloe Grace Moretz certainly carries the acting portion of the film, running circles around Kodi Smit-McPhee but, at the same time, he's not terrible. Just out of his depth a little, it all. It's wonderfully romantic, brutal and worthy of being watched and not slammed without second though (or first viewing).

Plus, lets be honest, the alternative is sparkling fairy-vampires.

1 - Burn after reading (Coen & Coen, 2008)

Ah, a victim of overhype - Burn after Reading was set to be the big film of 2008. It was supposed to sweep the critics, gain love and show a darker side of the Coen brothers that hadn't been seen in some time. Instead, as a result of expecting WAAAYYY too much of the film, it hit with a mixed reaction, questionable taste and some weird box office receipts, it's faded in obscurity. Sort of.

Funnily enough, it's really not all that bad - It's got a wicked sense of humour (A fabulous stab at the American ideal of "Policing the world" and questioning the intelligence of the Bush administration/CIA), a great cast (Malkovich, Swinton, Clooney, Pitt) a good script, good direction, good, well, everything, just massively over-hyped in the build up to its cinematic release. There's a thousand great quotes, a handful of great scenes and some terrific performances.

Oh, and Brad Pitt gets his head blown off. Score.

In short - Take everything with a pinch of salt. Ratings are done by critics, which is effectively an opinion and no two people have identical opinions.

I urge you, watch it with an open, clear mind when you take it on for the fist time.

All the best

The first post, and thoughts on Star Wars episode VII

Hello! I should start this blog the same way I start my others I suppose, by claiming I'll be faithful and updating it frequently. Of course, I am a mere human (sadly) so if I do go quiet, assume I'm okay - If it is more than six months and you smell something funny, call the police.
JOKES ASIDE - Hello. I'm Adam Best. I'm a student (Very, very much so) studying film at Southampton Solent University, and I'm a bit of a self taught know-it-all on feminism in Horror Films. Call it a specialist area if you will. But for now, to business.
So. First post. And, would luck have it, a topic has fallen right into my lap. I, of course, being a massive fan of Science Fiction, have heard my fair share of....

STAR WARS EPISODE VII

But more importantly

RAGE AT STAR WARS EPISODE VII

It is all true - George Lucas, in his final act as head of Lucasfilm has sold the company, and his key franchise Star Wars (But no word on Indiana Jones, which I doubt can get much worse after Crystal Bloody Skull) to, none other than the people of Disney.
Now, those who know me will happily tell you of my loathing of Disney (namely the animated films - Note, Disney Animated, not Pixar) however, the comic fan in me is, strangely enough, very optimistic.
I refer, of course, to Disneys purchase of Marvel. Back then, a lot of people questions why, and if it would affect Marvels publications.
What was the big shocker? Disney did NOT mess with the workings of Marvel. Instead, money was left on the doorstep with a note "Business as usual, we just want you for a slice of the male demographic. Oh, and the film rights, because fuck you FOX and the shitty X-Men sequels" - And, it worked. Really well. So well, in fact that the lovechild of this business venture, Joss Whedons (rather brilliant) Avengers Assemble (The Avengers in the US of A) assembled a metric shit-ton of money, critical praise and renewed a lot of faith and hope in the comic-book hero sub-genre (And was better than The Dark Knight Rises, but that is another post).

So, fast-forwarding now to Episode VII and, prospectively, a new trilogy of films and Disney. The first thought that springs to mind, contrary to a lot of other people is, well, Jar Jar fucking Binks already happened. The worst has come already! And, to be honest, in III there is a real reason to hate the froggy bastard (No spoilers for those behind, but III is actually quite good) and I doubt that Disney would want to repeat the same mistake.
Second thought - The rumours are circling around "Old man Luke Skywalker". Contrary to what a lot of people are saying, it would not play around with the "Extended universe" - Under this, said canon would remain as is, and instead pick up afterwards. I'm fine with this, and for the record about 10% of the Extended universe is good. The other 90% is barely a cut above The Phantom Menace (Come at me, internet).
Third thought - Disney don't want to tool around in Lucasfilm. They want a slice of a MASSIVE market pie that has been a constant cash-cow for nearly four decades (I'm pretty sure that Darth Vaders chest piece prints money) and, to be honest, you'd need to have taken a serious blow to the head to not want in. At the end of the day, Disney is a corporation and they'll do what makes them the most money, and Lucasfilm is not broken (Even if Lucas himself, judging from Crystal Skull, might be suffering from dementia) so why fix it?
Fourth and final - This is FAR from the first time a "Third" trilogy has popped up (Thought its the first time its a definite yes). For decades, there has been rumours of a "Sequel" trilogy following Luke, Leia, Han and Chewy cavorting around space in a post-empire universe, returning to normality (Most of which is the backbone to the extended universe) - I'm actually surprised that it has taken this long to happen, but I'm not surprised that it's taken a third parties money to make it happen.

Overall - This might not be a bad thing. Granted, Disney is, well, evil (but that is another post) but, given the track record with Marvel, I'm optimistic. I guess, and I cannot believe I am the one saying/typing this, that everyone really should think about this before flying off the handle.

And on that note, with my skin fizzing, I shall leave you for a while. Maybe I'll post again sometime.

All the best