en-us https://www.intensedebate.com/users/823615 Comments by tomseymour http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/act-of-valor-18318#IDComment322082076 Brilliant piece of writing this... Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:35:24 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/act-of-valor-18318#IDComment322082076 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/bill-cunningham-new-york-18287#IDComment317460411 Very nice review... Fri, 16 Mar 2012 10:55:08 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/bill-cunningham-new-york-18287#IDComment317460411 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/black-swan-13641#IDComment125433152 Just to back up Anton, we try as a magazine to select films that tap into certain issues or themes or concerns that we feel are interesting and prescient. We weren't given the opportunity to see Tron before the mag went to print, but we decided to continue with the issue anyway because it tapped into our continued involvement with artificial intelligence. Our next issue is going to be the British Sci-Fi issue, because it's more interesting than simply the Attack the Block issue. For what it's worth, I felt Matt didn't give enough to credit to Aronosky's formidable ability to mix what we term as high-culture (the dramatic concepts surrounding a ballet for example) and low culture (the "cliched slapstick shockers"). For me, Black Swan was that rare thing - a 5,5,5 movie. Wed, 2 Feb 2011 14:20:01 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/black-swan-13641#IDComment125433152 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/bafta-rising-star-award-2011-13664#IDComment122101969 Jennifer Lawrence is a good shout - she was terrific in The Burning Plain. Didn't think much of Saoirse Ronan in The Way Back, but she was great in Atonement. Rooney Mara was good in Social Network. Although her role was still quite small, she's going to be big. Jessica Chastain has got some big movies coming up this year - if the BAFTA really wanted to catch the cusp of the wave, she would have got a nomination. Mila Kunis for Black Swan. Olivia Wilde has suddenly got a fuckload of credits out of nowhere. Violante Placido should be in every movie ever made after bringing such beauty to her thankless role in The American... Tue, 18 Jan 2011 16:12:01 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/bafta-rising-star-award-2011-13664#IDComment122101969 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/blue-valentine-13529#IDComment121498641 I enjoyed it, but felt it was just a nice variation of a set of pretty identifiable romance-drama cliches. Two great actors, and the film did a good job of acting as vehicles for their contrasting styles of performance, but, partic from Gosling, felt there were some moments that screamed of actors' ad lib indulgence. Grizzly Bear score added a lot though... Sat, 15 Jan 2011 14:41:16 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/blue-valentine-13529#IDComment121498641 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/its-kind-of-a-funny-story-13380#IDComment120501132 Without meaning to push this joke too far, I 'kind of' agree with you as well. I'm always a little skeptical about film-makers that claim to completely align the audience's perspective with that of the protagonist. Here, Craig seems to like all the same things as Boden and Fleck, they're aesthetic traits are still all over this film, not least the Broken Social Scene soundtrack. With the animation sequences and musically excerpts and reasonably unknown leads, they seem to be consciously tapping in to the new indie films that have populated Hollywood for the last year - (500) Days of Summer springs to mind. On a baisc level, if this film was funnier or the characterisations resonant and memorable, I may not have found it so grating, but it's (kind of) not. Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:06:34 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/its-kind-of-a-funny-story-13380#IDComment120501132 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/lwlies-32-creative-brief-winner-announcement-13403#IDComment119655186 Off. The. Hook. Wed, 5 Jan 2011 16:10:54 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/lwlies-32-creative-brief-winner-announcement-13403#IDComment119655186 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/when-life-imitates-art-13215#IDComment115934918 "Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television..." Wed, 15 Dec 2010 10:24:48 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/when-life-imitates-art-13215#IDComment115934918 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/somewhere-12983#IDComment115472719 I agree that she's making similar observations to what we saw in Lost in Translation, and the film did feel like a more feminine rendering of Less Than Zero. I find it interesting that so many film journalists are so willing to dismiss the film as an indulgent, smug pean to poor celebrities but would probably do cartwheels for the chance to interview Sofia for ten minutes with six PRs in the room in a posh hotel in Rome. I felt the film was sleek and airy, but it had bite as well. I felt challenged by it... Mon, 13 Dec 2010 15:32:54 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/somewhere-12983#IDComment115472719 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/the-chronicles-of-narnia-the-voyage-of-the-dawn-treader-13152#IDComment115454562 Granted. Disdain the wrong word. What is wrong with interrogating Christian allegory? Mon, 13 Dec 2010 14:00:47 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/the-chronicles-of-narnia-the-voyage-of-the-dawn-treader-13152#IDComment115454562 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/somewhere-12983#IDComment115450545 It's an elitist, arrogant, alluring film about an elitist, arrogant, alluring industry. Coppola speaks of the cult of celebrity with an unmatched clarity, although that may be all she can do. I loved it. Mon, 13 Dec 2010 13:39:54 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/somewhere-12983#IDComment115450545 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/the-chronicles-of-narnia-the-voyage-of-the-dawn-treader-13152#IDComment115431489 What is wrong with disdain for Christian allegory? Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:13:49 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/the-chronicles-of-narnia-the-voyage-of-the-dawn-treader-13152#IDComment115431489 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/bfi-eases-ukfc-crisis-13101#IDComment112854826 The UKFC wasn't just the office off Regent Str - it worked through a number of regional satellite organisations arcoss Britain. It was a centralised Government initiative that actually worked in a local way. If that process of localisation is furthered, then it's difficult not to support the Gov's plans. 'If' is very much the operative word though. The film industry is a cottage industry - so tax breaks will help a lot of indie producers and directors more than an administrative funding body can. But that doesn't mean that Gov doesn't have a place. The Tory philosophy - across the board - seems to be 'we'll do less, you do more.' I've personally met a lot of producers, otherwise known as scumbags, whose business model was just to exploit the holes in the UKFC, creaming off the excess and putting it straight in their personal bank accounts. They didn't really care about movies, or in helping the little man to break into the industry. They'd get the funding and immediately became overpaid passengers. If these guys fall because there only revenue stream has been removed from then, then the UK film industry as a whole will be better off. Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:02:30 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/bfi-eases-ukfc-crisis-13101#IDComment112854826 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/brilliantlove-12926#IDComment109392183 "A certain Northern charm" eh Zara? Unbelievable. Fri, 12 Nov 2010 15:36:02 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/brilliantlove-12926#IDComment109392183 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/steering-queer/#IDComment94136287 To say that Hollywood is a conservative institution is a conservative point in itself. Its an easy target, weakened by your apparent assertion that gay cinema, and gay rights, is a monolithic thing. Group identity is best expressed when stood opposed to something else. It’s a product of repression. But, in this country at least (and I get the impression in large parts of America as well), LGBT culture markedly less repressed and infinitely more nuanced than it was a generation ago, and that’s reflected in our cinema. "Lighter films like I Love You Phillip Morris may be the way forward for gay people being normalised rather than marginalised," I don’t agree. We’re at a stage where LGBT need no longer be the defining characteristic of someone’s personality. People have the right to express their sexuality in any way they please. It is no longer a simple choice between invisible assimilation or marginalization, thankfully. Beyond the very limited amount of films you've mentioned, there have been so many examples of cinema, TV and literature that involve LGBT themes it barely gets a mention anymore. But Britain and America is a secular state with a vibrant cultural ethos. LGBT figures are well represented in our cinema and our government, and are making their varied voices known. The taboos are being broken. To try and build them again is archaic and redundant. This is not to say everything is perfect. Homophobia is rife in our sporting culture. Gay men can’t give blood. Hollywood is still afflicted with safety-first commercialism (although markedly less so) and a lot of people still have playground attitudes. The gay community is right to campaign and advance its cause in cinema and culture in general, of course. But in an awful lot of devloping countries, anything beyond heterosexuality is still illegal, punishable by torture or death. It's a no-sum game to be virtuous about Western cinema. There are bigger fights to be had. Supporting Eyes Wide Open, City of Borders and I Killed My Mother is a better use of webspace than dismissing Brokeback Mountain on the basis of assumed audience reaction. Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:51:34 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/steering-queer/#IDComment94136287 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/the-a-team-11818#IDComment89963599 Joe Carnahan must lie awake at night and wonder where it all went wrong. Narc was such a good low budget noir, with two of the best performances you'll ever see. Since then he's done Smokin' Aces, which was fluff, and Pride and Glory, which had enough for you to wish it was a lot better, even though it was overcooked and hackneyed and full of Ed Norton vanity. After this compromise with the dark side of commercialism, I'm hoping Carnahan uses his fee to go and make something small and rough and crime-filled and personal again. Sat, 31 Jul 2010 10:18:26 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/theatrical-reviews/the-a-team-11818#IDComment89963599 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/letting-the-right-one-in-11808#IDComment89374506 That's a great point. My favourite moment in the original is when they kiss for the first time and, for a split second, Eli seems to become this incredibly old, withered woman, almost as if Oscar had shorn her of her immortality, or she had bestowed it upon him through such a simple act of intimacy. It's an elusive and protean moment - you can't be sure of its significance, or whether you dreamt it after its happening. I think Let Me In is going to be servicable and entertaining, but it will be starved of the multivalence of the original. Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:07:54 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/letting-the-right-one-in-11808#IDComment89374506 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/uk-film-council-rip-11813#IDComment89107798 Forgive me, it was £4 million, not £12 million. But he did claim 1p on a 12 second phone call on parliamentary expenses... Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:07:00 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/uk-film-council-rip-11813#IDComment89107798 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/uk-film-council-rip-11813#IDComment89106476 Talk to a lot of British directors and the conversation always tends to revert back to the foibles of the UKFC - its social conservatism, the control it exerts over projects its funded, its positive discrimination, the jump through hoops mentality its seen to have encouraged in young film-makers. An awful lot of funding bodies have merged or folded over the last few years, and the UK Film Council has become too monolithic and ubiquitous. All roads seem to lead back to it. It was, maybe, a good example of Labour's statist attempt to govern an industry comprised of individual, self-employed businessmen. Despite all that, I think its loss is going to be devastating. The film industry is one of the most privileged arenas in our society - notoriously insular, horribly nepotistic. It's inherently an expensive, indulgent pursuit that doesn't reward meritocracy. For its layers and faults and and calcified bureaucracy, the UYKFC was still a redistributive institution. Young, unconnected, non-London film-makers are going to have rely on the Caste of the Big Society from now on. Jeremy Hunt, btw, inherited around £12 million the day he was born. Maybe not the best person to head-up a cottage industry. Tue, 27 Jul 2010 09:54:45 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/blog/uk-film-council-rip-11813#IDComment89106476 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/interviews/andrew-thompson-lucy-bailey-9290#IDComment88895476 It is a polemical film though. All docs, almost all news, have an agenda that exists on the promise of a dialectic. The issue of colonialism is still deeply felt in Zimbabwe, and you could argue for justified reasons (British businesses, for example, are still very very active in Zimbabwe). I don't agree that the film is colonialist apoligia, but it would be folly for white, Western viewers to ignore such a deeply felt sense of injustice. Mon, 26 Jul 2010 14:03:51 +0000 http://www.littlewhitelies.co.uk/interviews/andrew-thompson-lucy-bailey-9290#IDComment88895476