Monday 14 December 2009

Monday musing

A whole host of awards were dolled out over the weekend, signifying the season is very much upon us. Alas, a pair of crunching pre-pre-Christmas deadlines means I don't have the time to get into them right now but The Hurt Locker seems to have done very well (that's the sound of me applauding...) which can only be a good thing.

I didn't make Friday night's multi-media screening of Avatar because I was busying hosting a Q&A with Sherlock Holmes director Guy Ritchie and stars Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Mark Strong. I saw the film last week but had to sign an embargo, the contents of which prevent me from reviewing it until a date I can't actually remember. So all I will say is this: there was a lot of love in the room for Ritchie and co. following the screening, and when one member of the audience decided to inform the director that his film wasn't in the "spirit of Sherlock Holmes" the rest of those present decided to vocally disagree with her. (Actually, the characters are very much in the spirit of Conan Doyle, just not the Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce versions of them.)

Sunday morning, I went to see The Princess And The Frog which, of course, marks a return to traditional hand-drawn animation for Disney. It's magnificent, visually imaginative, delightful, charming, funny, with a wonderful soundtrack to boot. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Now, back to work...

4 comments:

Gerard said...

SO glad to hear you loved Princess and the Frog, too! Between you and me, I prefer it to Avatar...

And interesting re. Holmes. I really haven't much cared for anything I've seen so far, and won't be catching the preview this week (it releases here on Boxing Day). But I might just check it out upon release, if you're getting at what I have a feeling you might be.

Finally catching Fantastic Mr. Fox tomorrow. Given I won't see The Road until January, it's the film I'm most looking forward to for the rest of the year (which might sound like a backhanded compliment, given the advanced stage of 2009, but I really don't mean it as such).

Mark Salisbury said...

I floated out of the cinema after TP&TF.

I do hope it continues to make money, so they keep on making the 2D stuff...

I have a whole bunch of stuff still to see before the year's out, not least Avatar, Precious, A Single Man... the list is endless.

Gerard said...

I really did too. It infuriates me to find that people are already trying to peg the film as racially insensitive. People seem to seek out the opportunity to get up in arms about something as if yelling first and the loudest somehow positions them on some sort of moral highground, but I call bullshit. Was there ever any uproar surrounding Pocahontas or Mulan?

Loved the film, and the soundtrack is indeed great. Had a terrific, drunken gathering of Disney singalongs here over the weekend (it wasn't planned as such - the night just somehow turned into one), and the TP&TF OST went down gangbusters. I'll probably count the film as a top ten fave if I bother giving time over to list-making this year. It's really stuck with me - can't wait to catch it again.

A Single Man and Precious won't reach our shores until February or so next year and are both Icon releases (meaning I have no idea when it comes to their previews). Especially keen on A Single Man, however.

Mark Salisbury said...

I have to say, A Single Man is the one that's calling out to me. But I will watch Precious because I'm intrigued to see what all the fuss is about.