My Christmas Film - The Swiss Family Robinson (1960)

This is the film I associate most with Christmas - Although it is really not considered a particularly Christmassy film - I used to have an old VHS recording of it from 25th Dec and watched it every year religiously!

When I was younger - I didn't notice the age of the film at all - it was essentially an exciting adventure film with pirates... and Disney as well - that was good enough for me!

The sets are exquisite for the time it was made (being Disney - I guess they had a lot to spend) and the characters, loveable.

It is a true family film - fun, adventure and pirates all wrapped into one!

Time to reflect - for the first time.

Now I must admit, this is my first reflective blog. I find the process of writing informally about my experiences a lot more difficult than giving my impressions of a film or television show - but I am told it is a must - so here we go!

I call this chapter 'Week 7'.

Monday morning began, as usual, with Richard's screenwriting class - However this was no normal lesson. We had been asked to prepare (based on the idea of postsecret.com) two postcards, each with a untold secret on it and an illustration that represents it. How uncomfortable the experience was going to be didn't hit me until I arrived in the cafe bar to be met with several extremely worried looking faces, all nervously awaiting the impending task!

I cannot explain more about the task as it would impinge on the agreement we all made before going in - that we would not discuss it afterwards - ever! I found the excercise - although uncomfortable - a truly cathartic experience - it felt honest and open, and I think we all benefitted, somehow, from it.

Following that was a rather heated debate about each class member's beliefs - It showed how passionately everyone could get about what they believe in and was a positive bonding experience.

Tuesday brought a written editing assessment from Gav in the DTU. It surprised me how difficult I found it trying to word processes on the computer rather than physically doing them - however I finished in good time - how successful I was is still to be seen!

Later that evening - I was staying at my girlfriend's flat - we watched 'Brokeback Mountain' - I found it to be a very poignant and touching film. It was beautifully shot, edited and acted and deserved all the awards it won. A real insight into the great actor that Heath Ledger was away from romantic comedies - he would only have improved.

A day off on Wednesday (sorry - self-determined study). I spent the day in a meeting with the producer of a film I may be directing in the Summer of 2010. She owns a company called 'Palm Tree Productions' based in Pinewood Studios. I have still to find out a lot more info about the project before I commit to anything though - to make sure I don't miss anything important here at the Academy.

Thursday - and we find ourselves in the always cheery AGOS9 for a lesson on the history of cinema in Glasgow - there was a heavy history element to the class - however I felt it really helped me to visualise the circumstances under which people would have enjoyed cinema in those times.

Thursday afternoon - we entered the world of gameshows and following a brief history and explanation of the format, we were assigned the group task of devising one ourselves. I was a good group exercise and although we did not have long to do it - it proved productive.

On Friday we had only one screening - a Buster Keaton film named 'Sherlock Jr'. As we having been watching Charlie Chaplin films for the last few weeks - I think everyone went in with the expectation that this would be similar but not as good - however I was pleasantly surprised. I found 'Sherlock Jr' more entertaining than most of Chaplin's films - not just because of the technical superiority but the performances also. Although Chaplin has exaggerated slapstick down to a tee - I found Keaton's character to be more subtle and entertaining.

Right, there we go - my week! Phew

Corrie

Well - here I am again, about to complain on this blog - it's becoming oh such a depressing read!

However it's not all bad - I might slip in a few semi-positive comments... possibly.

As part of our television module with Andy Dougan, we were asked to watch an episode of the long-running British soap opera, Coronation Street. Being, without use of a better phrase, a soap virgin - I had many, probably unfounded, prejudices against the show before I even sat down to watch it. I was expecting a excessively dull, banal, visually unexciting and terribly acted twenty minutes - and was pleasantly surprised to find that that was only 95% true!

I had not appreciated the effort it takes to story-line television like 'Corrie' until Andy took us through the process in his class. I can see the talent involved and I am very impressed at how the writers can keep a show going for as long as this has without dropping viewing figures. That said - I feel that the process is irrelevant when what is produced - is to me - absolute non-entertaining drivel!

The plot - although realistic to some extent - is melodramatic - It is the 'real' world as seen through the eyes of social services. I get the impression - the target audience is those who watch 'Big Brother' live - 24 hours a day. I was watching the trivial pursuits of a bunch of Mancunians that I really cared nothing about - there was no romance, no drama, no emotion. It felt dry.

There was one particular plot-line which caught my attention - and not in a good way. Apologies for the lack of names, as I was introduced for the first time to almost 12 different people in a mere twenty minutes - (it took me several days to remember everyone's names in DFTV1). A grandfather takes his grandson out after he collects him from school - an opportunity to sit on Santa's knee catches the grandson's attention but is, not very subtly may I add, avoided suspiciously by the grandfather. When the boy finally convinces his grandfather to take him there - Santa is revealed to be the boy's other grandpa - the men evidently do not get on and a ridiculous argument breaks out between them - resulting in the Santa being fired! This was probably one of the most staged pieces of television I have seen - truly cringe-worthy!

I feel that this has sufficiently conveyed my views towards 'Coronation Street' - Although many of my colleagues have taken the view that if it does not star David Attenborough, a host of exotic animals and include the quest to save Middle Earth - then I will not like it - that's not quite true - this was just really not a street I would venture down again.

New Moon

I know I promised in my last entry that I would attempt to make my next post a positive one, however, unfortunately, this was the next movie I saw!

I am not a teenage girl, I have not read the books, the sight of Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner stripping does not get my heart pumping, I like things to happen in a movie, I am a fan of actors that can or are allowed to act and I am also a fan of vampire films - I clearly tick none of the 'target audience' boxes.

This film was as long as it was dull - with a budget of more that twice than that of the first in the series - one might think you could at least make a 'vampire' movie visually exciting - but sadly, no. I didn't see any vampires - did you? Maybe I blinked!

Non-diehard fans of the series will fail to empathise with any of the main characters - the actors appear bored with their roles. Bella (Kristen Stewart) does little more than winge for the entire duration of the film - Jacob (Taylor Lautner) spends the entire film partially clad (when I say partially...I really mean fully with the exception of a pair of ripped denim shorts which would be more appropriate on a Ken doll from the 1980s) - and Edward (Robert Pattinson) spends the majority of his screen time standing still, looking tired and nauseous.

It would be unfair for me to comment on the success of the narrative having not read the books, however to me, it felt tediously slow and lacking in any emotion.

I'm sure through the rose-tinted glasses of the Twilight fanbase, this was the most exciting release of the year, however to a newcomer, it failed to evoke more than a few yawns.

A teenage love story it is, a vampire film - it really aint!