In the darkness of early morning films

In the past 2 days I went twice to the cinema. Morning shows before 11am, 5 people in total. It allows you to sneak up to the VIP section and enjoy comfy and spacious seats and a lovely hot Caramel Macchiato from the nearby Starbucks. A perfect beginning of a day provided the films are worth watching and spending £5.15.

Yesterday I saw "Beastly", the new take on the folk tale about the Beauty and the Beast. What can I say - I'm a sucker for that story. The film wasn't bad, it was what I expected which is good, because I avoided disappointment. It doesn't bring anything new, yet it's somehow pleasing and very enjoyable. Additionally I got inspired fashion-wise by Vanessa Hudgens playing the Beauty aka Lindy, to go back to my old look. Inspired by a teenage heroine in a girly film. Am I that shallow? You bet! :)

The second film, "Red Riding Hood", made me think about current trends in the cinema. The film itself was neither good nor bad, which made it belong to a long line of films (released int he past 5 years) which are aesthetically very pleasing (not difficult with the amount of £££ they spent on CGI), and that would be it. The plot is very simple and rather predictive, the characters roughly sketched and the acting is mediocre. And also, something that drives my up the wall, the clash of scenery and costumes with the type of characters created by the actors. If you are setting the film in roughly medieval times, make sure that everyone plays the part. The younger generation of actors was not able to learn from much more experienced actors, i.e. Gary Oldman and Julie Christie, and behaved like a bunch of high schools kids in costumes. Where is the historical accuracy? I went to see it from a little sentiment I have for the director, Catherine Hardwicke, after the great job she did with "Twilight" (again - yes, I'm that shallow). RHH wasn't, however, even remotly as captivating. I felt like the film makers were in a hurry to finish it on time (was there a short deadline?), to hit the Box Office target in the first weekend of showing and earn profit. The viewers are rushed through the film, like there was a little voice at the back of our heads saying: "Hurry up, you don't have the whole day". So you have plenty of wide angles and fast camera work (showing the characters, the village, the werewolf from every possible angle), scarce and rather meaningless dialogues, dimmed lights and haunting music to create an appropriate atmosphere of mystery and fear. All-in-all - good entertainment, poor quality = modern blockbusters.

And the question for tonight: what happened to films made with love and care?

Sleep well

A.