Interesting Photography: Robert Doisneau

Interesting Photography: Dave Nitsche

Interesting Photography: Helmut Newton

A collection of engaging and fascinating photography by Helmut Newton.

Friends with Benefits

And so we get to our typical rom-coms of the year. The sickeningly beautiful actors all coming together to reflect upon how viewers aren't, and will never be, as perfect as they are.
All they have to do is deal with hilariously unfortunate implications, a few misunderstandings and every so often a comical scene showing their "quirky and clumsy" side... showing them fall over. How very original.

At least with the most recent rom-com Friends with Benefits, we see a slightly postmodern twist on the rom-com genre. Characters fully aware of the rom-com formula, you say? Trying to steer clear of the clichés, I hear? This isn't your traditional love story?

.... how original.

Well, it would be. If a certain "lets be friends but bone each other with no emotional attachment" plot hadn't already been done months beforehand and starred another certain female lead from another certain Oscar-nominated film about another certain crazy ballerina.

Yes, this film was very clearly the counterpart to No Strings Attached. They're called: Dueling

movies. Similar actors, similar ideas, coming out at similar time. You'll see it a lot with Dreamworks films vs. Pixar films or lately with Marvel films vs. DC films now The Avengers along with their origin stories are having the Hollywood makeover. You always see it, even if you aren't always aware, its there staring you right in the face: Haven't I seen this movie before? Only with slight differences?

There's no denying that both Portman and Kunis deserve a break after the physically demanding roles they played in Black Swan, I just didn't realize their breaks would be so parallel to each other. I'm talking same airline, same country, same hotel, suites next door to each other and at the same restaurant that night kind of similar. But which one had the better break?

Portman, after Black Swan, starred in two comedy films: Your Highness and No Strings Attached.

Your Highness was met with some pretty negative reviews, and for a comedy film, it hadn't made me laugh as much as it should have. Portman plays a relatively minor role in the film, and is not an integral part to the plot. She merely serves as a distraction, an obstacle and an eventual love interest... and there's a scene with her in a thong.
No Strings Attached was, once again, met with some bad reviews and I can't say I disagree. For a rom-com it seems a little awkward to watch and there is sadly no chemistry to be seen between Portman and Kutcher.

In contrast to two mediocre "comedy" films that star Portman, Kunis stars in a single good one. Friends with Benefits is the story of two friends, Jamie (Mila Kunis) and Dylan (Justin Timberlake) with, you guessed it, benefits!

Yes, we already know where this'll end up- its a rom-com and they -SPOILEEERS!!havetogettogetherintheendSPOILEEERS-!!

But lets be honest, its the inevitability of every rom-com. The genre isn't there to be subverted or challenged, its there as a formula for the typical love story. Two people fall in love, problems ensue, are overcome, they live happily ever after. The story may be told with a different take, the problems may be different, the setting and time may have changed, but the ending is always the same: if two people really love each other, they will end up together before the credits roll. The only film I've seen that doesn't end with such an ending is He's Just Not That Into You,

where Jennifer Connelly's character ends up divorcing her husband, and everyone in that part of the story doesn't have a happy ending- more of a bittersweet one for Connelly herself.

The pace of Friends with Benefits is fast and non-stop, something you don't usually see in a rom-com, but in this case it seemed to work quite well with the story. The fast-paced lifestyle and careers of both the main characters (one of who, can easily transfer jobs from L.A. to New York and back again as if its nothing) suits the way the story is told to viewers. Things start to slow down by the second act, paying more attention to the rom instead of the com.

One thing that surprised me about this film is the casting of Justin Timberlake. When he began acting in Shrek 3, I honestly thought it was because of his relationship with Cameron Diaz that got him the part, and he was just another big name in music trying to get into acting- but with no real acting talent.

In The Social Network, he pops up again as one of the main characters. Good acting, but not enough to really remember him for his acting- just that he was in the film.
And suddenly, whilst watching this film, his acting seems more noticeable. He's wasn't trying too hard (at least it seemed that way) and the chemistry between Timberlake and Kunis was fun to watch.

There was one thing that disappointed me though.
Throughout the film, there are certain jokes made at the expense of the Romantic Comedy genre itself, scenes where the two are watching a typical rom-com and they talk about how typical it really is. Its clever for a rom-com, but by the end of the film, the entire story falls victim to the usual formula, and the end scene was too obvious. I'd expected the self-reflective element of this film to carry on right through to the end, but I'd hoped for too much.

"All About Eve" & "Annie Hall"

All About Eve:

Interesting story about the life of theatre actresses. Its presented like an actual theatre play, which is prominent in older films anyway, but this can make the film go a lot slower than it actually needs to be. The writing is very good, a tad dated and tends to draw out a bit, but good nonetheless.

I especially enjoyed Anne Baxter's performance as Eve Harrington, as she gradually becomes more and more manipulative as her career takes off. However, even at the beginning of the film as she acts out as an adoring fan of an established but ageing theatre actress Margo Cunning, Eve's fanatical devotion to her put me on edge, especially the sweet, innocent, naive look Baxter's performance embodies, and later discards for a more husky-voiced, seductive manipulator in order to snatch Margo's parts away.

One little point that slightly agitated me and almost gave away the entire plot was the constant praise for Eve. The amount of times I heard "I like that girl!" or "Let me tell ya somethin' about Eve"... everyone was almost too nice to her and she was sickeningly modest about everything. Eve was bordering very close to the "Mary Sue" character, but it still made for a good character.

Rating: 6/10

Annie Hall:

I'm not entirely sure what to make of this film. I enjoyed it, but wasn't drawn into the story as much as I probably should have been. I didn't feel much compassion or understanding towards Alvy or Annie, but I was intrigued by their on/off relationship. Its definitely not the typical romantic-comedy, and because of this, its a classic in its own right.

I loved how every so often Alvy broke the fourth wall and how he and Annie and any other main characters spoke to complete strangers about their life or what was happening in the plot. Its a very good device to use, but was the only thing that helped me pay attention and know what the characters were feeling.

This film absolutely screams 70's. The fashions, the prominent issue of drugs, some of the lines... if nothing else, this film could definitely be nostalgic for anyone who grew up in the 70's. The dialogue in this film relies heavily on improvisation, it doesn't seem scripted at all, which adds to it realism.

I thought Woody Allen wanted very much for the audience to relate to the character he plays and the story of his relationship. Though I didn't relate, I still found the film entertaining, albeit in a weird, experimental way.

Rating: 7/10

Terrifying Video Games: BioShock

To begin with, I start with something that has always been an interesting topic of conversation among myself and my peers: Horror.

Or Horror Video Games so to speak.

The reason this has always been so interesting is due to the fact that everyone's perception of horror is different from one another. That said, I begin with a game that is truly terrifying to me.

BioShock is, as described by the official website: a "Genetically-Enhanced, First-Person Shooter" but with elements of Survival Horror added. A lot of people would argue (including a majority of my friends) that the Survival Horror element wasn't very prominent, therefore the game itself isn't considered scary. However, in my opinion, BioShock should be considered as one of the scariest games ever.

I'm not kidding- it gave me nightmares for months.

I couldn't sleep because I thought a doctor splicer was standing over my bed, ready to mutilate me.

But maybe its just me... your mileage may vary on this one.

I decided today to try to overcome this fear and begin playing BioShock in broad daylight with my boyfriend. I figured I should try and do what my friends did- brutally kill any splicers I see so they become mooks to me. They can be killed easily and I can easily do it with just a wrench. They cannot harm me. I AM A RUTHLESS KILLIN' MACHIIINEEE.

It didn't work.

Though I tried, and managed to kill a few splicers- I could barely play about 30 minutes of it. My boyfriend was proud of me for trying, but I still felt it was necessary to explain further why it was so scary to me... but more to try and figure out why.

For a start, the setting of BioShock is a terrifying one. Trapped in a secret underwater city and continually hunted by mutilated and deranged beings... the atmosphere is intense and this tension stays with me throughout the game (whether I'm playing or someone else is) and the emergent gameplay keeps you on your toes. Most of the scares are scripted, but there's always a surprise waiting for you depending on how you play the game.

Its also the claustrophobia. You're at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Of course, Rapture is a pretty big city, but its still unfamiliar ground. Like Dead Space, most of the fear can stem from being confined, but on Earth, we know the safest places to escape to. During a zombie apocalypse, I'd know how to escape from my house and where to hide. I find myself crazy prepared just in case anything does go wrong, and I feel assured because of it.

Even the upcoming BioShock Infinite doesn't look as frightening as its predecessors, the airborne city doesn't look half as creepy as Rapture. The wide open spaces, the brightness and the "floating dreamily among the clouds" feeling the setting embodies is almost liberating, and stands as a stark contrast to Rapture, and almost fully removes that fear which I found so compelling in the first two games.

And then there's the use of sound. I've listened to a few of the splicer dialogues... its disturbing as all hell. Here are a few:

Toasty

Rosebud

Pigskin

Waders (creepy "Jesus Loves Me" rendition.)

While this is immensely disturbing, this also serves as an impressive plot device, with there being a minimal amount of cutscenes within this game but with such a in-depth, extensive plot to tell the player. You pick up many audio tapes as you explore Rapture, with some being informative to the player and some just downright disturbing (one such incident as to why you find two corpses embraced with a bottle of pills next to their bed...)

BioShock has been awarded for several "Game of the Year" awards, and I can't say I disagree. The amount of thought and effort that went into this game deserves recognition and respect, and although the game's survival horror element wasn't the main intention, it succeeded in frightening most people, as well as being a visually dynamic art form and an enjoyable video game experience, albeit a very scary one for me.

"Welcoooome to the Circuuus of VAAALUUUUEEE!!"

Welcome to my blog.

My name is Mollie, and I'm gonna try my hand at writing a blog about whatever peaks my interest.

I'm a bit of a film geek, an artist and a gamer. But there may be some entries concerning different subjects as well.