Oscars 2024 Roundup

You never know what you are going to get from the Oscars, and this year’s certainly didn’t disappoint. Jimmy Kimmel took to the stage as a now four time Oscar host in a monologue which referenced the writers and actors strikes, the Barbie snubs, and made an *interesting* gag about Robert Downey Jr’s past which seemed to be taken in the way it was intended. At one point, Kimmel brought out a lot of people who work behind the scenes on films that we don’t normally see to celebrate their work as well. Nice touch!

This time around, there was very little straying away from the awards. It certainly felt more focused. Minus a very brief section where Guillermo Rodriguez gave our tequila to the audience. Lucky them! This was certainly a ceremony where a lot of the writing for the presenters worked, the acting categories brought  back previous winners in a lovely tribute to the awards as well as the people. Seeing people return like Nicolas Cage, Ke Hue Quan, Sally Field, Rita Moreno, and more was genuinely heartwarming.

As for the multiple duos of presenters, there were a lit of laughs all round. Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt duking it out on what was nore popular, Barbie or Oppenheimer. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito getting up close and personal with an angry Batman aka Michael Keaton. John Cena’s naked routine which could have been distasteful but he has the comedy chops to pull it off as he presented Best Costume. However it was Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer’s presenting that just felt as if the jokes fell short of the standard of the night. It’s not that hard! The less said about Al Pacino’s presenting skills, the better. Perhaps they should have had Messi, the dog from Anatomy of a Fall, to give out the final award instead.

He was stealing the show constantly! But, this is the Oscars, and if it was anyone’s to steal, it was Ryan Gosling’s! He may have walked away empty-handed (your time will come), but he pulled off one of the great Oscar moments we’ll ever see. He reprised his Oscar nominated role as Ken to perform I’m Just Ken, with 60+ dancers including Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, and more. This was a go hard or go home moment, and he went hard as Ken, and we’re all the luckier for it!

The awards themselves, for the most part, there were no big surprises other than Godzilla Minus One winning Best Visual Effects, defeating the frontrunner, The Creator. On top of that, those who worked on the film had Godzilla shoes and brought toys of the monster with them as well. Very cool. Still need to see that!

All in all, it was a fun night that didn’t go on too long. Fingers crossed, they get rid of the whole lot who were the ITV correspondents, and that was truly dreadful! Ill informed people who make frankly stupid comments is not why I stayed up. Maybe next year will be different. Until then, here are all the winners and nominees from this year’s awards!

Best picture

American Fiction
Anatomy of a Fall
Barbie
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Past Lives
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest

Best actor in a leading role

Bradley Cooper (Maestro)
Colman Domingo (Rustin)
Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)
Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) – WINNER
Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction)

Best actor in a supporting role

Sterling K Brown (American Fiction)
Robert De Niro (Killers of the Flower Moon)
Robert Downey Jr (Oppenheimer) – WINNER
Ryan Gosling (Barbie)
Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things)

Best actress in a leading role

Annette Bening (Nyad)
Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon)
Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall)
Carey Mulligan (Maestro)
Emma Stone (Poor Things) – WINNER

Best actress in a supporting role

Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer)
Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple)
America Ferrera (Barbie)
Jodie Foster (Nyad)
Da’Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers) – WINNER

Best directing

Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)
Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese)
Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan) – WINNER
Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos)
The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer)

Best animated feature film

The Boy and the Heron – WINNER
Elemental
Nimona
Robot Dreams
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Best adapted screenplay

American Fiction – WINNER
Barbie
Oppenheimer
Poor Things
The Zone of Interest

Best original screenplay

Anatomy of a Fall – WINNER
The Holdovers
Maestro
May December
Past Lives

Best cinematography

El Conde
Killers of the Flower Moon
Maestro
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Poor Things

Best costume design

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things – WINNER

Best documentary feature film

Bobi Wine: The People’s President
The Eternal Memory
Four Daughters
To Kill a Tiger
20 Days in Mariupol – WINNER

Best documentary short film

The ABCs of Book Banning
The Barber of Little Rock
Island in Between
The Last Repair Shop – WINNER
Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó

Best film editing

Anatomy of a Fall
The Holdovers
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Poor Things

Best international feature film

Io Capitano
Perfect Days
Society of the Snow
The Teachers’ Lounge
The Zone of Interest – WINNER

Best makeup and hairstyling

Golda
Maestro
Oppenheimer
Poor Things – WINNER
Society of the Snow

Best original score

American Fiction
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Killers of the Flower Moon
Oppenheimer – WINNER
Poor Things

Best original song

The Fire Inside (Flamin’ Hot)
I’m Just Ken (Barbie)
It Never Went Away (American Symphony)
Wahzhazhe (A Song for My People) (Killers of the Flower Moon
What Was I Made For? (Barbie) – WINNER

Best production design

Barbie
Killers of the Flower Moon
Napoleon
Oppenheimer
Poor Things – WINNER

Best animated short film

Letter to a Pig
Ninety-Five Senses
Our Uniform
Pachyderme
WAR IS OVER! Inspired by the Music of John & Yoko – WINNER

Best live action short film

The After
Invincible
Knight of Fortune
Red, White and Blue
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar – WINNER

Best sound

The Creator
Maestro
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Oppenheimer
The Zone of Interest – WINNER

Best visual effects

The Creator
Godzilla Minus One  – WINNER
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3
Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Napoleon

Keep. It. Reel.

Me, Myself and My Blog

With this being my 300th blog post I thought I’d write something different. Something that may help others because I’m someone who understands how difficult it can be to maintain a blog, especially if you feel you’re not quite represented enough. As someone of Indian heritage writing a film blog doesn’t feel like the most common thing to do but I’m happy to be the black sheep. 

Since I had a conversation in a cafe across the street from where I live with a friend of mine 6 years ago who gave me the idea to start and I haven’t looked back. Besides those times when Facebook memories forces me to confront the horrors of my earlier posts. Including one solely based on my then brand spanking new Avengers Assemble steelbook. To be fair is was and still is beautiful.

I feel I have come a long way since then and whilst I always have doubts regarding my ability to write anything interesting, witty, insightful or that anyone else will ever want to read, I continue to write. However it shouldn’t be about that really, what your writing should be, whether it’s a blog, a book, a film a TV show or just something you’re doing for yourself, it should be something you enjoy. Something you love. Something you feel passionate about (even if that’s yourself, nothing wrong with that).

I’m in a habit of slow writing, because of how I want it to sound, how I want to sound to other people. I edit as I write which makes me slow, I’m doing it right now and it’s annoying. But you know what? Again that shouldn’t matter. Write slow, write fast, write incoherently. Make it into whatever you want. Stop thinking about it, stop worrying about it and just do it!

Whilst my passion pushes me to better my writing (at least I hope it does) it’s also given me something a bit more interesting to do. I’ve manged to get onto press lists for smaller film releases, plus I cover the London Film Festival every year with a press pass I always feel lucky to have. I applied for it a few years ago and now I take some time off work, pay for my pass and watch around 16 films across 10 days. I always have the best time and this year more than ever I’ve wanted this to be my life. Going to films, writing about them, meeting people from the industry, finding a hidden gem and spending my time doing what I love the most. Blogging, whilst difficult to maintain around a full time job, makes me happy which after having either a difficult day, week, month or year, is something I can look at, something which I created and feel proud. It’s not often that I can say that, anyone who knows me understands that I am my harshest critic and worry far too much when it comes to anything. So with that here’s a few things to keep in mind when beginning and writing your own blog:

• Think about what your really passionate about
• Write what you want and edit it later
• Have no distractions
• Read other blogs
• Be open to criticism. It helps a lot!

So I hope I’ve helped, even a little bit. I know it can be hard to start a blog when you’re unsure where to begin but when you do and you find that confidence you certainly have, it’s one of the best feelings in the world.

Keep. It. Reel.

Pop Up Screens Is Back

It’s finally sunny(ish) and for film fans it’s the perfect time to get away from the cold indoor cinema, sit outside…and watch a film! That’s right, outdoor screenings are returning to a large green area near you with the announcement of Pop Up Screen’s line-up of new and classic movies in partnership with Benadryl.

Yes that’s right, it’s time to ditch the indoors, bring your favourite blanket and pick a film or two from choices such as Thor: Ragnarok, Wonder Woman, Academy Award winners The Shape of Water, 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Get Out along with 2017’s Beauty and the Beast and many more.

There are multiple locations this year, with the additions of Ruskin Park in Denmark Hill, Guildhall,  Canbury Gardens in Kingston and Priory Park in Crouch End, so even more chances to enjoy some amazing movies. Take a look at the selection below and pick out your favourites. You can book your tickets at popupscreens.co.uk.

 

Bishops Park Fulham

Friday 20th July: The Breakfast Club

Saturday 21st July: Dirty Dancing

Sunday 22nd July: Romeo & Juliet

Friday 31st August: Logan

Saturday 1st September: La La Land

Sunday 2nd September: Moulin Rouge!

________________________________________________

Ruskin Park, Denmark Hill

Friday 27th July: Get Out

Saturday 28th July: Grease

Sunday 29th July: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

________________________________________________

Corams Field, Russell Sqaure

Friday 3rd August: (500) Days of Summer

Saturday 4th August: Notting Hill

Sunday 5th August: Cool Runnings

Friday 21st September: Donnie Darko

Saturday 22nd September: Dirty Dancing

Sunday 23rd September: Easy A

________________________________________________

Ravenscourt Park, Hammersmith

Friday 10th August: 10 Things I Hate About You

Saturday 11th August: Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Sunday 12th August: The Greatest Showman

________________________________________________

Guildhall, City of London

Monday 13th August: Wonder Woman

Tuesday 14th August: Thelma & Louise

Wednesday 15th August: Suffragette

________________________________________________

Canbury Gardens, Kingston

Thursday 16th August: The Goonies

Thursday 23rd August: Thor: Ragnarok

Thursday 30th August: Top Gun

Thursday 6th September: 10 Things I Hate About You

________________________________________________

Central Park, Greenwich Peninsula

Friday 17th August: Baby Driver

Saturday 18th August: Bridesmaids

Sunday 19th August: La La Land

________________________________________________

Manor House Gardens, Hither Green

Friday 24th August: The Jungle Book

Saturday 25th August: Dirty Dancing

Sunday 26th August: Ghostbusters

________________________________________________

Priory Park, Crouch End

Friday 7th September: 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Saturday 8th September: The Greatest Showman

Sunday 9th September: Back to the Future

________________________________________________

Paddington Recreation Grounds, Maida Vale

Friday 14th September: Grand Budapest Hotel

Saturday 15th September: The Shape of Water

Sunday 16th September: Pretty Woman

 

Keep. It. Reel.

Jimmy Kimmel To Host The Oscars Again

He was a farely leftfield choice to begin with but once he got onto that stage he knocked the Oscars out of the park. After doing such an amazing job this year (minus that very odd tour bus prank), Jimmy Kimmel is set to host the biggest movie awards show once again in 2018. His return is one few saw coming but it seems most are happy with.

For the 90th Academy Awards, who knows what he’ll have in-store but with this year’s smart and sharp opening monologue, poking fun at Hollywood’s elite, as well as adding in his own brand of comedy with Mean Tweets and his consistent piss taking of Matt Damon off stage, it’s sure to be equally entertaining. 

Jimmy will be the 23rd presenter who has hosted the Oscars more than once, joining a list which includes Bob Hope, Ellen DeGeneres, Whoopi Goldberg, Frank Sinatra, Jon Stewart and many more.

The 90th Academy Awards takes place on Sunday 4th March and I will be live tweeting them as always. But maybe not live Instagramming…

Keep. It. Reel. 

Golden Globe Nominations 2017

Award season is well and truly on the way with the recent event that was the Critics Choice Awards who dished out yet more shooting star trophies. Soon enough it’ll be the BAFTAs and Oscars taking place, but before the “prestigious” award ceremonies happen, let’s slum it for a bit with the Golden Globes. This week the nominations for next year’s awards were released, and it looks like La La Land is taking the lead, but for some stupid and inexplicable reason, Dev Patel have been shoved into the Supporting Actor category. Why? Some one tell me why? He’s the lead dammit!

Anyway, this year we’ll see Jimmy Fallon hosting so it’s no doubt that this will be an entertaining event, with a nicer tone than this years. Although I didn’t mind Ricky Gervais, he did, after four times hosting, piss a lot of people off. No surprise but still funny.

Here is the full list of 2017 Golden Globe nominations:

FILM

Best film drama

• Hacksaw Ridge
• Hell or High Water
• Lion
• Manchester by the Sea
• Moonlight

Best film comedy/musical

• 20th Century Women
• Deadpool
• La La Land
• Florence Foster Jenkins
• Sing Street

Best actor (drama)

• Casey Affleck, Manchester by the Sea
• Joel Edgerton, Loving
• Andrew Garfield, Hacksaw Ridge
• Viggo Mortensen, Captain Fantastic
• Denzel Washington, Fences

Best actress (drama)

• Amy Adams, Arrival
• Jessica Chastain, Miss Sloane
• Isabelle Huppert, Elle
• Ruth Negga, Loving
• Natalie Portman, Jackie

Best actor (comedy/musical)

• Colin Farrell, The Lobster
• Ryan Gosling, La La Land
• Hugh Grant, Florence Foster Jenkins
• Jonah Hill, War Dogs
• Ryan Reynolds, Deadpool

Best actress (comedy/musical)

• Annette Bening, 20th Century Women
• Lily Collins, Rules Don’t Apply
• Hailee Steinfeld, The Edge of Seventeen
• Emma Stone, La La Land
• Meryl Streep, Florence Foster Jenkins

Best film supporting actor

• Mahershala Ali, Moonlight
• Jeff Bridges, Hell or High Water
• Simon Helberg, Florence Foster Jenkins
• Dev Patel, Lion
• Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Nocturnal Animals

Best film supporting actress

• Viola Davis, Fences
• Naomie Harris, Moonlight
• Nicole Kidman, Lion
• Octavia Spencer, Hidden Figures
• Michelle Williams, Manchester by the Sea

Best film director

• Damien Chazelle, La La Land
• Tom Ford, Nocturnal Animals
• Mel Gibson, Hacksaw Ridge
• Barry Jenkins, Moonlight
• Kenneth Lonergan, Manchester by the Sea

Best screenplay

• La La Land
• Nocturnal Animals
• Moonlight
• Manchester by the Sea
• Hell or High Water

Best animated film

• Kubo and the Two Strings
• Moana
• My Life as a Zucchini
• Sing
• Zootopia

Best foreign language film

• Divines
• Elle
• Neruda
• The Salesman
• Toni Erdmann

Best film score

• Moonlight
• La La Land
• Arrival
• Lion
• Hidden Figures

Best film song

• Can’t Stop the Feeling, Trolls
• City of Stars, La La Land
• Faith, Sing
• Gold, Gold
• How Far I’ll Go, Moana

TELEVISION

Best TV series (drama)

• The Crown
• Game of Thrones
• Stranger Things
• This Is Us
• Westworld

Best TV series (comedy)

• Atlanta
• Black-ish
• Mozart in the Jungle
• Transparent
• Veep

Best miniseries or TV movie

• American Crime
• The Dresser
• The Night Manager
• The Night Of
• American Crime Story: The People v OJ Simpson

Best actor in miniseries or TV movie

• Riz Ahmed, The Night Of
• Bryan Cranston, All the Way
• John Turturro, The Night Of
• Tom Hiddleston, The Night Manager
• Courtney B Vance, American Crime Story: The People v OJ Simpson

Best actress in miniseries or TV movie

• Felicity Huffman, American Crime
• Riley Keough, The Girlfriend Experience
• Sarah Paulson, American Crime Story: The People v OJ Simpson
• Charlotte Rampling, London Spy
• Kerry Washington, Confirmation

Best TV supporting actress

• Olivia Colman, The Night Manager
• Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
• Chrissy Metz, This Is Us
• Mandy Moore, This Is Us
• Thandie Newton, Westworld

Best TV supporting actor

• Sterling K Brown, American Crime Story: The People v OJ Simpson
• Hugh Laurie, The Night Manager
• John Lithgow, The Crown
• Christian Slater, Mr Robot
• John Travolta, American Crime Story: The People v OJ Simpson

Best actress in a TV series (musical/comedy)

• Rachel Bloom, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
• Sarah Jessica Parker, Divorce
• Issa Rae, Insecure
• Gina Rodriguez, Jane the Virgin
• Tracy Ellis Ross, Black-ish

Best actor in a TV series (musical/comedy)

• Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
• Gael Garcia Bernal, Mozart in the Jungle
• Donald Glover, Atlanta
• Nick Nolte, Graves
• Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Best actress in a TV series (drama)

• Caitriona Balfe, Outlander
• Claire Foy, The Crown
• Keri Russell, The Americans
• Winona Ryder, Stranger Things
• Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld

Best actor in a TV series (drama)

• Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
• Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
• Matthew Reese, The Americans
• Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
• Billy Bob Thornton, Goliath

Keep. It. Reel.

60th BFI London Film Festival roundup and thoughts

This year’s festival was truly incredible, with the big films as well as the independent ones, there was a vast variety of things to see, as well as people to meet. It’s only been my second year covering the festival for my blog as press and it’s been a lot of fun watching all sort of films, getting to go to press conferences and meeting some really wonderful and passionate people. During my time at the festival, I decided to watch as much as I possibly could, I never thought that it would be tiring and difficult, whilst being totally worth it!

I was also fortunate enough to meet and interview a couple of directors who had films out at the festival. Both were incredibly passionate about their work and the industry, it’s clearly something that they are in love with, as am I. I love meeting these sorts of people, there’s something humbling about sitting down to talk to someone about their work. I hope I get to do more of it in the future.

I saw 20 films in 12 days, here’s a few words on each one:

1.  The Eagle Huntress – Surprisingly good
2.  A Day for Women – Unfortunate and terrible
3.  Into the Forest – Interesting, although made no sense in the end
4.  Barakah Meets Barakah – Good and funny
5.  Kills on Wheels – Inappropriately funny
6.  Sweet Dreams – Good
7.  A United Kingdom – Good but the music is a bit much
8.  A Monster Calls – Wonderful, beautiful and sad
9.  The Handmaiden – Good and weird
10.  The Eyes of my Mother – Creepy, scary, brilliant
11.  La La Land – Wonderful, stunning and extraordinary
12.  Manchester by the Sea – Decent but not great, no development at all
13.  David Lynch: The Art Life – Interesting and original
14.  Bleed for This – Okay, but not great, lacked heart
15.  Arrival – Better than most modern sci-fi films
16.  Birth of a Nation – On the nose score, in your face religious imagery, well told if a little anti-climactic
17.  Snowden – Better than I thought it would be
18.  Lion – Moving beyond words
19.  Nocturnal Animals – A story which essentially goes no where
20.  Free Fire – Good fun

Full reviews for some of these are on the way of course. In between these films I was normally queuing up for another film, chatting away to fellow delegates which is a lot more than I did last year. Frankly when I was new to the whole thing in 2015, I was nervous and I had no idea what to say to anyone! For any of you who have been to any random events by yourself where you have the chance to chat, get to know people and network, it can be hard! It’s something I took with me to this year’s festival in the sense that I just didn’t want to just stand around any more. I wanted to speak to people, see what they’ve seen, find out about their work and get to know them, which I did with a great deal of apprehension.

Those who I spoke to included several journalists, a student, a screen writer, a teacher, an actress, a producer and many more. All of them trying to make something of themselves in this insanely difficult industry. Just like myself. Having this ambition to become a film critic is a hard one to realise but recently, especially after walking from screening to screening for two weeks, it’s something that I want more than ever. I think that speaking to such a wide variety of people, finding out about their careers and what they have achieved and what they would like to achieve really got me thinking and it’s something I’m never going to stop thinking about.

For those of you who want to cover something like this, it’s as simple as putting yourself out there, but in a lot of ways. I had a couple of amazing moments this year and last, of knowing that I’m being given a press pass to cover the best thing we have for film goers and film lovers. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you’re getting to attend something as fascinating as this! So the best thing to do is start a blog, take acting classes, become a vlogger, use social media to its maximum capacity and never give up.

I love getting to cover this festival, the films, the people, the time off work! There’s so much to love and I’m already excited about next year. So, here’s to 2017 and what will be the 61st BFI London Film Festival.

Keep. It. Reel.

Happy Hogan returning to the MCU in Spider-Man: Homecoming

The interactions between Iron Man and Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War were utterly superb. Combining these two tech geniuses, their conflicting personalities and the right amount of heart and humour really showed what the MCU is about when it comes to character relationships. The thought of these two appearing together again in next year’s Spider-Man: Homecoming is such an exciting prospect. And now there’s even more amazing news with the fact that Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan will also be appearing in the film.

It’s a welcome addition to the cast, Happy and Tony have always had a comedic and sweet bond which is hard to have on screen. Happy hasn’t been seen since Iron Man 3 as he stayed out of Civil War, possibly because he took Pepper’s side in the break up! 

Spider-Man: Homecoming also stars Robert Downey Jr, Tom Holland, Logan Marshall-Green, Marisa Tomei and Michael Keaton. It’s directed by Jon Watts and set for release on July 7 2017 in the UK.

Keep. It. Reel.

My Ideal Cinema – The Reel Deel.

These days, going to the cinema can be a bit of a nightmare. Take away the fact that if you are insistent on always going with someone else you have to plan around each other’s schedules, you also have to put up with the chatters, the phone users, the seat kickers, the late comers and the constant bladder emptiers. Basically, the most irritating type of people to ever encounter in a cinema. I was in the cinema recently and two people in separate rows were using their phones as the film started, one proceeded to Snapchat it and the other was filming the movie. What is wrong with these people?! Using your phone should be a good enough reason to get yourself tossed out of there but filming it? It’s illegal, no discussion, prosecute them. Plain and simple. This never happens, it’s always up to other audience members to shush people and tell them to put their phones away. Why pay so much money to talk and stare at small screen? It makes no sense, I’m at my wits end. So if I ever become lucky enough to lay down my own plans for a cinema I own (I’d probably call it The Reel Deel, in case you were wondering), this is how I would run things.

No phones. AT ALL.

When Prometheus was released, I was lucky enough to go to a preview screening. Due to the timing of said screening (happening about an hour after the premier) we all had to hand in our phones. We queued, gave them in, got a ticket to pick them up after the movie. Perfect. It was a quick process to pick them up after. This is a great system for cinemas. It would immediately eliminate the cause of so many random glaring screens that are such a distraction and take you out of the experiences of whatever you are watching.

Cloth bags for food

The bags of sweet and chocolate plus certain cinemas who inexplicably serve popcorn in paper bags which creates more noise than they should. When someone is rustling around for a few kernels to chew on, or wanting to suck down that final piece of chocolate, it’s amazing how annoying it is when the shove their hand into whatever they are eating from to grab it. It’s shocking that all of that digging around in such a small bag can create such a large disturbance. No more! The cloth bag will be used instead. At my cinema, once someone buys a crinkly bag of whatever confectionery they desire, the contents will be transferred into a cloth bag and once they return, they’ll receive a discount on their next purchase. If they don’t return it, free cloth bag!

No talking

I need someone to please explain why people pay money to talk in the cinema. Why? WHY?! For the love of GOD, you’ve come to the cinema to chat. WHY?! Why come here when you can do that anywhere else in which it is socially acceptable? A pub, café, coffee shop, bar, home, restaurant, shops, so many place to chat which are not the cinema. Don’t do it! For my cinema, there would be ushers at hand, ready to tell people to stop talking or to leave. Two strikes and then you’re out. No refund, no coming back. That is that. Harsh? GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!

No toilet breaks

Okay okay, I’ve calmed down. Now this might sound a little mean and we’ve all needed to relieve ourselves during a movie. But it can be distracting to others to see someone get up and attempt to duck down whilst a film is playing and they are running for the loo. There are a couple of ways in which this can be solved. First is to ban all breaks, pretty much lock the doors until the credits. I’ll be a nice and say that if it’s a Marvel film who commonly have mid and end credits scenes, the doors would open when the credits begin if you need to duck out before the very end. Yeah, I’m pretty nice like that. The second way is to have easier access to the exit. The best way to do this is have steps on the left, middle and right of the seats which leads directly to the door. Or the image below could serve as a solution. Maybe not…

Carpet only throughout each screen

Whilst we’re on the steps, it should be carpeted fully with no hard wood floors. Nothing that can make a sound. Including the small section of each step with has a hard bit of plastic on the edge. It makes noise when anyone walks on it and creates yet another disturbance. Get rid of it, I hate that thing!

No late entry

What is the point in going to the cinema if you are going to miss bits? You may as well not see it at all. I’ve seen people come in 10 minutes after a film has begun and it makes no sense to do this. The first 10 minutes of countless films sets the whole thing up, you will not understand fully what’s going on or why. If you can’t make it on time, then don’t go. At all. A ban on late entries sounds pretty ideal.

No smelly food

Don’t serve something that will make other who have come to watch a film vomit! Hot food you can buy at the cinema is gross. Nachos and hot dogs are the primary culprits. The less smelly the better. The smell is offensive as is that taste. It makes no sense to film the screen with something that will piss off most of the people who sit near to you. No hot food in The Reel Deel.

No 3D movies

I hate them. There’s light loss, there’s rarely enhancement on the picture which is worth it. If you ever saw Toy Story 3 in 3D, I’m sire that you’ll agree the film is just amazing however the 3D is a perfect example of how not to use it. It gave the audience nothing more that we were already getting from the characters. So why is it used so heavily? Well apparently it’s working because it’s making the studios more money. Of course it is, it’s a gigantic rip off that so many people are forced into due to lack of 2D option! So no 3D films at all. All movies do have a 2D option but a lot of the big chains, depending on which branch you frequent, only have the 3D option. More money, that’s what it’s all about.

Charging an affordable set price throughout the week.

On the subject of money, this is something I’d like to see implemented. Arguable a couple of chains have their own see as much as you want for a monthly fee card. A brilliant scheme which saves a lot of money. However, let’s say you have one of these cards and there’s nothing to see which is playing a decent time for this particular franchise. Well, you’d have to go elsewhere in the hope that you don’t have to pay too much as you’re already forking out around £20 a month. Now, credit where credit is due, the Odeon in Covent Garden has almost done this. They charge £7 during the week and the prices go up on the weekend and there are no booking fees online. It’s pretty impressive, but it’s just not good enough. I was going to see Jason Bourne during the week at another of their branches close by in Leicester Square and the prices was £18.50. How anyone can justify this is beyond me. This is £1.40 less than what I pay per month for my Cineworld Unlimited card. It’s just ridiculous! A flat rate Monday to Sunday no matter what time or what day would make things easier and fairer for anyone who wanted to see film.

So what do you think? Harsh? No harsh enough? Or just right? Maybe one day this dream will exist, one day…

Keep. It. Reel.

Home Cinema

Just over 10 years ago, George Clooney made the move from TV to film. From ER to Hollywood hunk, as he is referred to constantly. He went from the very popular and sexy E.R to movies such as Three Kings, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Ocean’s Eleven working with big name directors Steven Soderbergh, the Coen brothers and David O Russell. It was the natural move for someone who has considered a good actor, charming, good looking and a delight to work with. Since his success, several others have made this natural progression such as Colin Farrell, James McAvoy, Zooey Deschanel and Will Smith

George Clooney in ER

These are household names with their film careers firmly intact and nailed down. They aren’t going anywhere but up in their careers. However, there has been a huge shift in more recent years with the big Hollywood A lister (as some are frustratingly referred to as) crossing over from the silver screen to the small screen. Where many actors began, it has become the medium of great love and respect amongst the writers, producers, directors and of course actors. With companies such as the unstoppable HBO producing shows which include Curb Your Enthusiasm, The Wire, Band of Brothers, Boardwalk Empire, Bored to Death and Game of Thrones, it’s not hard to see why Claire Danes, Justin Long, Alec Baldwin and Steve Buschemi are flocking to what used to be a stepping stone but is now a step up.

Homeland

The calibre of television has gone through a huge change over the past few years, with the introduction to sharper writers, new effects, gritty storylines that cut through to the bone, larger budgets and fresh ideas, it can really compete with the big screen. There are several similarities that make moving from film to television a no brainer. Similarities such as the writers not only work on television, those such as JJ Abrams developing his TV career as well as working on Mission: Impossible III and Super 8. The influences of which can been seen to bleed through into his television work in Lost with the action scenes and paranormal phenomena.

30 Rock

All of these actors have made something of themselves, starting from the bottom and working their way to super stardom. But maybe their fame shouldn’t be as celebrated as it is, they have gone one way, the way people seem to be shunning. It seems well-established actors as turning their back on films and flocking to HBO. Flocking to television. Flocking from the silver screen to the small screen. So many shows have come out in recent years which have the same high budgets Hollywood uses on a daily basis.

Bored To Death

For those of you who love these shows and enjoy seeing your favourite actors on a weekly basis, the best is yet to come. More and more actors are shunning Hollywood to forge a television career such as Jeff Daniels and Emily Mortimer who are currently starring in The Newsroom. The evolution of television has allowed actors to develop their characters further and act in a way like never before. They have these chances on the big screen on but not on the small screen. Not until now. Now we can have a well-rounded viewing experience with everything from the make-up (just take a look at those “walkers” In The Walking Dead) to the well-oiled dialogue. To me, it’s a real tribute in a way to how talented the writers are that lures the huge names to TV, you can’t have anything but respect for. The budgets, the talents and especially those such as Mark Whalberg and Steven Speilberg producing TV shows prove that television is the new black.

The Walking Dead

The Newsroom

 

Real life Disney

We all love Disney. Whether that’s Disney old school or Disney with Pixar. All of their films are loved, especially the classics such as Bambi, Lion King, Up, Dumbo, 101 Dalmations and so on. Some of these beloved movies have had a change. A real life change. Take a look at these photos of real life Disney characters, they are just amazing. Enjoy and Keep It Reel.

The real life Disney!