(Historical Post - June 2015)
OK, I've found some motivation, let’s talk about Foxcatcher first.
Quite unusually, I went into this knowing very little about the story - In my head, I was prepared for a rags to riches, heart-warming success story, but what I got was more like, not a slap in the face, but that dull pressure you feel all over your face if you've been near an explosion - that's really odd I know, but it’s the only way I can explain it.
It wasn't like the kick in the teeth you get from Django or the smack in the gut from Wolf of Wall Street, it was this long lasting, repetitive motion injury, type feeling.
What I'm saying in my own strange way, is that it left a mark, it left me frowning, it left me feeling that uncomfortable, uneasy feeling you can only get when you've watched something that is completely devoid of joy.
Don't let that last sentence put you off, because this film is a must see, not only for the heartbreaking story, but for the face meltingly amazing performances, from each and every person involved (NOT Sienna Miller - she was, like in American Sniper, completely surplus to requirements) I really wish, for all three involved, that some type of honorary Oscar category could have been devised especially for them this year, like 'Best Feel Like You've Been In An Explosion Performance' category, because they all should have one on their mantelpiece for this, without a shadow of a doubt.
I don't want to tell you too much about the story, except that it's about two brothers, who have Olympic Gold Medals in wrestling and the events that unfold when they cross paths with a millionaire.
That's all I'm saying and that's already more than I knew when I started watching it and for the love of god, please DO NOT Google anyone or anything mid watch, it will ruin everything.
A good starting point would be the script, it was a non-entity for me, I didn't ignore it and I didn't marvel at it because, like Sienna Miller, it seemed surplus to requirements to me, this is another movie that could have been silent and still crushed my soul.
Sets, costume design and soundtrack, again all flawless, but when your eyes barely leave the main cast, its quite hard to comment on them.
Make up, however, is a vitally important cog in the machinery of the film, Steve Carell's transformation is as important, if not more so, than every move he makes and every word he says. His teeth, his nose, his complexion, all give him this very fitting sinister air that you never get used to. There's something very 'Norman Bates' about his performance - you will see what I mean when he interacts with his Mother on screen.
This is another moment where I'm struggling to form sentences because I have so much to say about his performance, he absolutely deserved an Oscar, he deserved every award under the sun to be honest and if bloody Eddie Redmayne had ceased to exist around 2013, this is exactly what would have happened.
The way he held himself, with his head constantly at a higher angle than can surely be comfortable for any human, the way he walked etc. his physical movements and blank facial expression were mesmerising and terrifying in equal measure. My notes actually say 'hard to be still but captivating' - Steve Carell made it look like a walk in the park; who knew one of our favourite nice guy funny men, could pull this out of the bag??!! We got a taste of it in 'The Way Way Back' but this is just on a whole new level of its own. He was truly uncomfortable to watch.
Channing Tatum, where do I start??
Let’s start with his physical appearance.
He seriously beefed up for this role, his lithe, ripped up, dancers body was replaced by this meat headed, beef cake type physique and my eyes may have been deceiving me, but he seemed to have developed an under bite, which he maintained throughout the film - I've never noticed it before, but I may be wrong. He changed the way he moved, walked, talked, his body language, he totally committed to this and for some unholy reason he was completely ignored by The Academy - WHY???? I know what I listed is in fact an actors’ actual job, but the point of awards is recognising when someone has really gone that extra mile, like Steve Carell, and there are points in this film where you can see him physically harming himself and hear the dull sound of skin hitting skin so amplified it hurts. This is so far removed from anything we have seen him do before that both me and Natalie said 'He's actually quite ugly ' and do you know what, he actually isn't that attractive facially in this film, its clearly his body grinding to Ginuwine that we all love not his face! I am not being a judgey little bitch by saying that, I'm trying to emphasise the impact his performance had.
In all honesty, as amazing as Mark Ruffalo was I can't really go into one about it like I just have with the other two, he was good, very good, but to me he was overshadowed by CT and SC. He changed his physical appearance and grew a magnificent beard and also adopted the bow legged walk of a wrestler like a total pro, but by the time your eye leaves Channing and goes to Mark, you just think, yeah well, what else is new mate, he's just done that. Although saying that he still rightly deserved every nomination he received and award he won.
Another thing I noticed about this film that actually caused a bit of a stir in the press, was how overtly sexual the wrestling seemed to be, the grunting and the over amplified groaning and thudding on the mats made it all extremely homoerotic (It wasn't just me, my friend agreed!) you will see exactly what I mean when you watch it. One thing is clear though, all parties involved trained very hard to be that convincing.
The one and only complaint I had was that certain parts of the story weren't made clear, at all, like one minute it’s all rosy and the next it’s all gone to hell and you're left wondering exactly why, but by the power of suggestion, you are left to make up your own mind and I like that in a movie sometimes.
OK, I've found some motivation, let’s talk about Foxcatcher first.
Quite unusually, I went into this knowing very little about the story - In my head, I was prepared for a rags to riches, heart-warming success story, but what I got was more like, not a slap in the face, but that dull pressure you feel all over your face if you've been near an explosion - that's really odd I know, but it’s the only way I can explain it.
It wasn't like the kick in the teeth you get from Django or the smack in the gut from Wolf of Wall Street, it was this long lasting, repetitive motion injury, type feeling.
What I'm saying in my own strange way, is that it left a mark, it left me frowning, it left me feeling that uncomfortable, uneasy feeling you can only get when you've watched something that is completely devoid of joy.
Don't let that last sentence put you off, because this film is a must see, not only for the heartbreaking story, but for the face meltingly amazing performances, from each and every person involved (NOT Sienna Miller - she was, like in American Sniper, completely surplus to requirements) I really wish, for all three involved, that some type of honorary Oscar category could have been devised especially for them this year, like 'Best Feel Like You've Been In An Explosion Performance' category, because they all should have one on their mantelpiece for this, without a shadow of a doubt.
I don't want to tell you too much about the story, except that it's about two brothers, who have Olympic Gold Medals in wrestling and the events that unfold when they cross paths with a millionaire.
That's all I'm saying and that's already more than I knew when I started watching it and for the love of god, please DO NOT Google anyone or anything mid watch, it will ruin everything.
A good starting point would be the script, it was a non-entity for me, I didn't ignore it and I didn't marvel at it because, like Sienna Miller, it seemed surplus to requirements to me, this is another movie that could have been silent and still crushed my soul.
Sets, costume design and soundtrack, again all flawless, but when your eyes barely leave the main cast, its quite hard to comment on them.
Make up, however, is a vitally important cog in the machinery of the film, Steve Carell's transformation is as important, if not more so, than every move he makes and every word he says. His teeth, his nose, his complexion, all give him this very fitting sinister air that you never get used to. There's something very 'Norman Bates' about his performance - you will see what I mean when he interacts with his Mother on screen.
This is another moment where I'm struggling to form sentences because I have so much to say about his performance, he absolutely deserved an Oscar, he deserved every award under the sun to be honest and if bloody Eddie Redmayne had ceased to exist around 2013, this is exactly what would have happened.
The way he held himself, with his head constantly at a higher angle than can surely be comfortable for any human, the way he walked etc. his physical movements and blank facial expression were mesmerising and terrifying in equal measure. My notes actually say 'hard to be still but captivating' - Steve Carell made it look like a walk in the park; who knew one of our favourite nice guy funny men, could pull this out of the bag??!! We got a taste of it in 'The Way Way Back' but this is just on a whole new level of its own. He was truly uncomfortable to watch.
Channing Tatum, where do I start??
Let’s start with his physical appearance.
He seriously beefed up for this role, his lithe, ripped up, dancers body was replaced by this meat headed, beef cake type physique and my eyes may have been deceiving me, but he seemed to have developed an under bite, which he maintained throughout the film - I've never noticed it before, but I may be wrong. He changed the way he moved, walked, talked, his body language, he totally committed to this and for some unholy reason he was completely ignored by The Academy - WHY???? I know what I listed is in fact an actors’ actual job, but the point of awards is recognising when someone has really gone that extra mile, like Steve Carell, and there are points in this film where you can see him physically harming himself and hear the dull sound of skin hitting skin so amplified it hurts. This is so far removed from anything we have seen him do before that both me and Natalie said 'He's actually quite ugly ' and do you know what, he actually isn't that attractive facially in this film, its clearly his body grinding to Ginuwine that we all love not his face! I am not being a judgey little bitch by saying that, I'm trying to emphasise the impact his performance had.
In all honesty, as amazing as Mark Ruffalo was I can't really go into one about it like I just have with the other two, he was good, very good, but to me he was overshadowed by CT and SC. He changed his physical appearance and grew a magnificent beard and also adopted the bow legged walk of a wrestler like a total pro, but by the time your eye leaves Channing and goes to Mark, you just think, yeah well, what else is new mate, he's just done that. Although saying that he still rightly deserved every nomination he received and award he won.
Another thing I noticed about this film that actually caused a bit of a stir in the press, was how overtly sexual the wrestling seemed to be, the grunting and the over amplified groaning and thudding on the mats made it all extremely homoerotic (It wasn't just me, my friend agreed!) you will see exactly what I mean when you watch it. One thing is clear though, all parties involved trained very hard to be that convincing.
The one and only complaint I had was that certain parts of the story weren't made clear, at all, like one minute it’s all rosy and the next it’s all gone to hell and you're left wondering exactly why, but by the power of suggestion, you are left to make up your own mind and I like that in a movie sometimes.