"The World Is Not A Wish Granting Factory"

Exams are fast approaching. A constant level of insanity is beginning to descend on everyone at uni. Manic stress is commonplace and people are scrambling for some form of solace. Of course rather than focusing on my massive contracts law textbooks I am doing anything but. I've had a pretty crazy week: I attended a benefit concert at my high school and a live show by legendary band Rüfüs. This week wasn't all hooray though: I got fired from one my jobs by text and had the opportunity to attend a preview screening of The Rover with director David Michôd (Animal Kingdom) in attendance but realised it was the night before one of my exams. Sanity, for me, was retrieved via an exciting and indulgent week in film. 

I managed to score tickets to an exclusive preview screening of The Fault In Our Stars. I feel that I need to explain the upending anticipation for the release of this film: 

John Green, the author of the source material, is easily one of the most eloquent writers we have today. As a movie buff, a cinephile I harbour a certain contempt towards sickly sentiment. But the novel - The Fault in Our Stars - is anything but. It's spiky, electric, ingenious and realistic emotion. The characters, so patently crafted are real creatures of this world. The film is directed by Josh Boone (remember his debut work Stuck in Love) and is adapted by the writers of The Spectacular Now and 500 Days of Summer. The cast is lead by Shailene Woodley whose naturalistic performances have garnered much praise and attention. And top this all off, the soundtrack is phenomenal - with tunes from the likes of M83, Grouplove, Lykke Li, Birdy, Jake Bugg and Kondaline. 

"There will come a time when all of us are dead. All of us. There will come a time when there are no human beings remaining to remember that anyone ever existed or that our species ever did anything. There will be no one left to remember Aristotle or Cleopatra, let alone you. Everything we did and built and wrote and though and discovered will be forgotten and and all of this will have been for naught. Maybe that time is coming soon and maybe it is millions of years away, but even if we survive the collapse of our sun, we will not survive forever. There was time before organisms experienced consciousness, and there will be time after. And if the inevitability of human oblivion worries you, I encourage you to ignore it. God knows that's what everyone else does".
~ John Green, The Fault in Our Stars

Click here to view a clip from the film: "Metaphor"

Bad Neighbours

I've been watching Seth Rogan dance with Zac Efron i.e. yes I went to see Bad Neighbours (the international release title of Neighbours). This film is easily my favourite comedy of the year so far. The neon lights, unparalleled party sequences and the sheer quality of the humour made the film one to be thoroughly enjoyed. It was consistent, contagiously funny and good quality cinema. Whilst I am not a fan of Zac Efron I appreciated his performance in a role which at rare occasions did show some depth and widened his variety ever so slightly. The true star and glowing merit of the film came in the form of Rose Byrne however. She has progressed so far from when I first saw her in the Aussie drama crime film Two Hands, by Heath Ledger's side. She was addictive to watch in Sofia's Coppola's Marie Antoinette as the flirtatious french Duchess, Yolande de Polastron and began showing an eye for comedy in Bridesmaids. 

72/100

Palo Alto

Another Coppola just entered the film industry. I'm crying in happiness  at that news yet also in sheer desperation that Gia Coppola's debut film, Palo Alto, has not yet been released in Australia. If Gia's work reflects any of the genius of her grandfather Roman or aunt Sofia, then the world of cinema surely has a future burning bright. 

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1

The next Hunger Games film has just begun releasing some promos. Almost exclusively of those featuring Julianne Moore. Moore is first grade actress: her portrayal of the twisted President Coin is sure to give the dystopian film a boost. I find this campaign for the next Hunger Games instalment to be particularly clever. The biggest flaw of the film series is its genre constraint - and hence its demographic limitations. It is undermined by its YA audience and promotion of the film via Julianne Moore will hopefully, prove the film to be credible in the eyes of an older audience. 

Game of Thrones: Laws of God and Men

The latest episode of Game of Thrones "The Laws of God and Men" was easily my favourite of the season thus far. The CGI used for the dragon sequence was truly phenomenal. It compels me now end how this series manages to continually raise the bar every week. 

Daenerys Targaryen rules as Queen of a baron land - a beautiful sequence once more.

Sofia Coppola's "The Little Mermaid"

Comedic outfit Funny or Die released a collaborative spoof with AnnaSophia Robb on Sofia Coppola's next untitled film which has been confirmed to be an adaptation of The Little Mermaid. Scheduled to be released sometime in the next two to three years, this film has already received some anticipation. The spoof itself is quite good: it's subtle and classic Funny or Die humour. It seems to have taken much material from Coppola's 4th film Somewhere but I guess that's what happens when you make a satirical trailer of a film which hasn't even entered production yet.  

Click here to watch "Sofia Coppola's Little Mermaid"

The Poker House

I re-watched The Poker House this weekend. I was reminded of just how powerful this film was once more. A little Indie flick which didn't exactly launch Jennifer Lawrence's career but rather captured the moment before she became somebody. 
"I race the sun home in the morning, and the moon up at night. Anything can happen, and anything does. There's just today - and then there's tonight."
~ Lori Pretty, The Poker House