BECAUSE WHEN IT`S REALLY DISFUNCTIONAL, THERE IS NOTHING MORE PAINFUL THAN A FAMILY : `AUGUST : OSAGE COUNTY`

This is another film that should technically come with a disclaimer. I definitely knew not to expect a light hearted family comedy when I started watching it (and even if you have done no research at all, this fact becomes blatantly obvious under ten minutes into the film) but blimey, I did NOT expect it to hit me like a sledgehammer. Not like this. Those who know how close I am to my mother and grandmother can easily put two and two together to figure out that this was not easy watching for me personally but I think the problem is pretty universal. This is a family portrait. A frighteningly realistic one of what goes on at the other end of the `family` spectrum, when all is not rose-tinted Hollywood bliss.

Barbara (Julia Roberts), Ivy (Julianne Nicholson) and Karen Weston (Juliette Lewis) are three sisters. Ivy lives close to their parents in Osage County, the delegated family member who takes care of the parents while the other two sisters have, to all intents and purposes, made a dash for it, living their own lives far, far away. God knows there is stuff to run away from. The matriarch of the family Violet (Meryl Streep) is not the easiest person to get on with by any stretch of the imagination, so much so that she has pushed her husband Beverly (Sam Shepard) to his wits end. So when tragedy forces all these strong and disparate people with years of unspoken grudges to bear under the same roof, nobody can quite predict what the result is going to be or who, if any of them, is going to get out of this ruthless melee emotionally intact…

This film is based on a play by Tracy Letts and I have no shadow of a doubt that she had first-hand knowledge of the workings of a problem family. I mean at least one. I mean I say that, but hand on heart, how many families can really aspire to what the mainstream holds up as `perfect`. At one point in the film Ivy speaks of how she has lost faith in the whole concept of sisterly love. `Just random bunches of cells that are genetically connected` is how she describes herself and her sisters. I do see her point. I don`t see things quite as darkly as all that, but I do see her point. It is a tough lesson to learn – and not all of us end up learning it – but the fact is, in my experience of the world, that just because you have family ties with someone it doesn`t necessarily mean you get along. It doesn`t even mean you like each other. In fact, if for whatever reason you turn out to be not very compatible as people, your relationship may well turn into a special kind of seething black pit of resentment that you only see between relatives. This usually has its roots in the fact that despite, for whatever reason, you don`t like or don`t get along with the person you are forced together, time and again, sometimes for decades… I mean there can be upsides to this kind of non-compatibility, God knows I have my own share of difficult relations but this has, for the most part, taught me patience. It has given me the ability to look more effectively for the good in people. Because when you are `lumped together` with a group of people, it is actually quite rare that you are able to have a relationship with them spanning decades or lifetimes and be unable to see the good in them at all. Because let us remember, it is very rare indeed that a person has no good in them at all… It all depends on how willing we are to look for it. That`s what makes families so extraordinary for me. It can well be that you are like chalk and cheese, even with your closest relations, but somehow you make it work… Except when you can`t…

Tracey Letts finds so many little things to touch on surrounding this kind of difficult situation. She touches on how difficult it is to get used to the concept of caring for your parents… Violet`s mental decline is especially hard to watch, although it is hinted out that she has never been the easiest of people to live with. Then there is Ivy, the one who got left behind and couldn`t leave her parents to fend for themselves… The line between taking responsibility for your family members and sacrificing your own life is such a fine one sometimes and taking a step either way is more painful than words can express… It is this pain the August : Osage County captures so well…

So yes. August: Osage County is about families. The real deal. Warts and all. Good times and bad. It is definitely not a feel good movie, nor is it for the faint of heart. But I reckon, if we watch it with honesty, many of us, if not all of us, will find something from our own families in there somewhere.              

ESSIE SPEAKS FROM THE HEART

I wish I had a nice, logical explanation for the fact that I have a very serious documentary and a tv series about vampires in the same update. All I can tell you is that these are the two things that caught my eye this week. They caught my eye and made their way straight down to my heart. I needed you to know about it.

I really need you to know about Blackfish. I have hated zoos ever since I was five years old, but this, I believe, is one of the best documentaries made on the matter along with The Cove.

And then, not to `take the taste away`, but to show you there are ways to entertain ourselves without enslaving other living beings - we have a collection of real live monsters for your amusement.

Scroll right on down ladies and gents!

happy viewing,
Essie

A MUST SEE FOR ALL OF US : BLACKFISH

Warning. This documentary is harrowing. And this is as it should be. I personally reckon you should force yourself to watch it anyway. I did – and this despite the fact that I already hate zoos, animal parks, in short anything that entails humans keeping animals in tiny enclosures. Or large enclosures. Heck, enclosures period. Especially if you`re a fan of all the Orca shows , you need to see this. It isn`t scandal-mongering. Yes, death and bloodshed is a part of it but we don`t see people being torn limb from limb. Don`t worry if you have a sensitive stomach – there is barely a drop of blood in sight. I won`t give any guarantees on you not having a broken heart though. That`s another story.

Blackfish tells the stories of a number of different wales in a number of different institutions but is vaguely centred on Tilikum, known as the largest killer whale kept in captivity. Living up to his dastardly name, Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three keepers and several injuries. But Tilikum is a savage hunter and killer right? Maybe it was the trainers that weren`t careful. Or maybe… Just maybe there is something more serious going on here…

First of all, let me assure you of one thing. I mentioned it in the intro I`ll assure you of this again – there is very little actual blood. You will not be tormented with torturous re-enactments or vats of unconvincing fake blood. Real footage is used when it can be, as are police interviews and the minutes from court cases. But trust me, having a weak stomach is no excuse for not watching this fella. What we do have is eye-witness accounts. Visitors who witnessed the attacks, sure but you have to realise that the attacks themselves are only a result. What the documentary really shows us is what pushed Tilikum to attack and kill three different trainers. The answer is sadly easy to guess : we did.

Blackfish interviews former trainers, people employed by the park all the way down the line, right to the guys who are responsible for catching the whales in the wild and reel them in. It is all very well and good imagining killer whales are these dumb critters who know no better but these are animals with complex family lives. Actual languages. A large brain that has been scientifically proven to have extra parts to it the human brain does not have. And we abduct them when they are calves and keep them in concrete pools with no stimulation for all of their lives. We force them to live with other animals and tell the kids they are one big happy family while they actually probably don`t even speak the same language. We make cuddly toys of them and make sure we don`t think about how the mothers cry when their calves are abducted. Because they do. That was the anecdote that touched me the most (so much so that, since as you may know I am very close to my own mother, I called her at what was in Turkey the middle of the night sobbing and had to be calmed down. Mom I have to say you handled the situation very well considering.) Anyway this anecdote was about a mother and calf. These two lived in a SeaWorld park and were utterly inseparable. Until the calf started getting a bit disrespectful to the keepers, you know, she`s young, she`s giving them some attitude. SeaWorld decides the way to go is to separate the calf and the mother, so the calf is shipped to Florida. The mother is inconsolable and starts making these weird cries no one has ever heard before and in somewhere like SeaWorld this collectively are decades of experience working with animals. So experts are called in and the calls are analysed and the results are shocking as they are harrowing. They are long distance calls. She is perfectly aware her baby girl has been taken far, far away and in her desperation she is trying something humanity has never heard before to see if she can somehow reach her…

Guys, parents… Please teach your children that zoos are cruel. Teach them that animals should be free in the wild. Let`s put these horrors out of business so other families don`t have to be rent asunder like this. One of the trainers interviewed says that he thinks that in 50 years we may well look back at these days as decades of incomprehensible cruelty. I devoutly hope he is right… 

THE BEGINNING OF A QUEST - AN EARLY APPRAISAL : `PENNY DREADFUL`

Now, I told you guys I`m keeping more on top of things as far as film and TV goes. Or at least I told you that this was the intention -  the results have been patchy to say the least. But I was so struck by the first episode of Penny Dreadful I simply had to chat to you about it. Even though there are inherent dangers of starting a review of something based on a single episode. But then again, there could be fun in re-evaluating my review in a couple of weeks…

We are plunged into the dark streets of Victorian London. A mysterious woman leads our hero, an American one time performer, now odd-jobs man (and very odd indeed his jobs are) on a quest with their mysterious patron. On the way they will encounter monsters we thought were mere legend. Blood-sucking monsters, a certain Dorian Gray and an ambitious young doctor, Dr. Frankenstein all await your attention… Hold onto your hats gentlemen, it`s going to be a bumpy ride.

Now, so far we have all the staples a series like this should have. An `everyman` character in the shape of our American , Ethan Chandler (Josh Hartnett). He is both handsome and believably talented and fit enough to survive the battles with the monsters – as you may have guessed, he is an ex-soldier who now makes a living in one of the many `wild west` shows doing the rounds in Europe back in the 19^th century. I mean I like the fact that he`s not just unbelievably lucky or magically talented - he actually has army training and thus survives his first encounter with a vampire. Of course we have the femme fatale character too.  Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) who is a beautiful and mysterious woman with a dark secret. They will `drag it out` for an episode or three but so far we know it involves reversed crucifixes and spiders so I think may well be a curse of some description in there somewhere. Then the rich patron and explorer, Sir Malcom (Timothy Dalton) whose quest we are on. It`s a tad bit banal and predictable unfortunately, his daughter has been kidnapped by vampires. And the fact that he is pretty sure she has not become lunch means that there is another dark secret involved in the story somewhere. So there we have it. We have a believable protagonist (I love the fact that even in a British series the hero ends up being American. Or it may simply be the fact that there is a subtle irony on the fact that the British having explored the USA before that now an American comes back and explores the `undiscovered` world of the UK). God I need to stop going off on tangents, ok, we have a believable and handsome protagonist, a love interest, curses, magic and a source of inexhaustible wealth that removes money as any problem as far as adventures go. We`re all set for some serious adventures, groundwork is first class.

And I mean so far it`s all very believable. Very clean and tidy. I love the fact that Dr Frankenstein who is ostensibly a good guy  (although it is early days of course) borders on the unpleasant. He is not an idealist at all, he is after making the `biggest conquest` science can make : conquering death. Thus he is overambitious, snooty and bordering on the anti-social. I sense a very dark British take on a lot of classic horror characters coming up. Just the sort of thing I love. Another thing the series has managed to do is to get some very disparate monsters to coexist. It is all very much part of the `Victoriana` ethos and has a very good theme running through and tying them together. It bodes well as we have more supernatural creatures due to come on board, I will be curious to see if it gets at all messy though. God knows it has the potential to do so though.

So I mean yeah, for its first episode Penny Dreadful has done an alright job. It is definitely full of promise. I have been looking for something to get my teeth into since I got disillusioned with Game of Thrones (I`m a purist and got cross with the TV series for going off script with the book so stopped watching it at the beginning of season 3). Now I`m a bit picky with my TV series. But I have a sneaking suspicion that my personal quest may have come to an end… I`ll keep you posted. 

ESSIE RANTS ON A DISAPOINMENT

I mean ok. I know I`m not being entirely reasonable, good sequels are few and far between. But seriously - this film had a very special place in my heart. I was seriously and sentimentally hoping that I was going to LOVE it. I don`t.

I mean it`s not bad but... Well... You`re just going to have to scroll down to find out.

Oh and to make up for the delay, check back on monday for an update of not one but two films.

I`m seriously getting my shi*t together, starting from this weekend.

In the meanwhile, happy viewing.

Oh and by the way, if you want me to rant/gush/ anything in between about a film in particular don`t hesitate to suggest it - I have been feeling very indesive recently and am open to suggestions.

Sedef

A DISAPPOINTING FORECAST : CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS 2

Sequels scare me. Especially if I really like the previous film as much as I liked Cloudy with a chance of meatballs. There definitely is some wisdom in not fixing something that isn’t broken. But therein lies the paradox ; if you are making a sequel, by definition it has to be a new film and yet you can’t quite let it stray too far from the original either. It’s a tricky job, sequels. It’s also the reason they so often go very wrong. I mean think about it, save a few notable examples (The Godfather trilogy being a notable one) really GOOD sequels are very few and far between. This one is not bad. It is not the first film – but definitely not bad.

So, the second story picks up pretty much where the first one left off. The clear-up operation is about to begin when the cavalry barrels in unannounced and definitely uninvited. The cavalry is “Live Corp.”, the world’s number one high tech company. And they have a miraculous proposition. Not only will they clear up the island, they are offering Flint a job! For the young scientist this is an opportunity he simply cannot miss. Not least because it affords him the opportunity to work with his all-time science hero Chester V. So it seems like a very exciting new start for Flint, Sam and all our old friends from Swallow Falls. However they quickly realise that often, if something looks too good to be true – it often ain’t… The problem is, Flint may just be so blinded by Live Corp and his hero-worship for Chester that he may just miss all the warning signs…                      

There were a couple of things about this film that really made me laugh. First up, let’s call a spade a spade, Live Corp is very, very clearly Apple. The whole idea that Apple “pure evil” etc. is of course a common joke – at least in the adult world. There are also quite a few food related puns floating around there and um… Ok here is where it starts to get a little tricky - cause yes the puns a funny but there are way, way too many of them. This is what makes me think this film edges slightly closer to a kid’s movie as opposed to an adult one. Because let’s face it, a steady stream of bad puns are a lot funnier if you’re around 10 as opposed to around 30. The same thing goes for the animals or rather the foodimals. I mean, don`t get me wrong, they are funny and amazing. The creators of the animation must have had SO much fun creating them. But they`re just… Presented to untidily. I mean I know the island is an ideal place to present it - the  machine spews the animals out all random and higgledy piggledy so this is the perfect way to present them. In completely random order. I would have slightly preferred  some kind of rhyme or reason. That and the whole sexless reproduction thing had me in stitches - in the same way the puns and random order of animals did this may escape the attention of younger viewers but for the older ones… Oh yeah, the machine just spits out the babies. The foodimals just adopt them and that`s that. Such typical Disneyesque family values, I had to laugh.

So… Yeah. It`s a bit more of a kids film. Which is possibly why I was slightly disappointed watching it. But then again, I suppose there is nothing actually wrong with old fashioned values. Back in the day animation was a medium almost exclusively for children`s films – cartoons for adults are a relatively new phenomenon. And I mean come on, almost all animation fans are big kids at heart it is not that hard to adapt to be absolutely honest…  But well… It`s the whole sequel thing, isn`t it  - these are characters you know well and you have high expectations personally tinged with your own personality and imagination. It can be a bit tough to be faced with the objective reality of it at the best of times. Then there is the fact that now the angle has subtly shifted and it`s now a tiny tad more of a kids film which puts you in an odd position vis a vis the film. I mean, if you think about it – the strawberry (thisll mean more to those of you who have seen the film) but yeah, think about it. Isn`t it the typical cuddly cute sidekick (who typically can`t speak – think telletubbies). So in a sense the characters we know haven`t developed but have actually infantilized (also, while I think of it, remember the one and only kiss between Sam and Flint right at the beginning of the film - the puffed out cheeks as the tips of their lips come together). I mean as a marketing ploy, I get it, cinema is an incredibly competitive market and appealing more to the kids (who can very effectively get their parents to spend money) makes sense. But yeah… If you don`t have a niece or nephew or little one to take to the movies you may find yourself wondering what the heck you are doing there at some point… That said, I can think of worse ways to spend a Sunday morning… 

ESSIE DOES SERIOUS DEBATES

Happy belated Easter folks! 

Sorry for the delay but what with bank hollidays and impromptu Easter plans my schedule got a bit discombobulated... I'm back on the right track now though - hopefully - and despite my intense "blue tuesday" syndrome. 

Anyway, today I'm going for some films with serious historical places... Or that have serious messages. This may or may not have something to do with the fact that my blue Tuesday syndrome is quite serious...

But enough with me moaning. On with the show!

Happy viewing,

Essie