Frank/Harbour Lights Picture House Cinema

Frank was a very interesting film - definitely worth a watch. Good themes, characters, music etc...

However, I think I want to talk about the cinema experience.. Despite some rather loud popcorn-plunging and crunching near me *cough* my dad *cough*, I think that might have been the best cinema experience I've encountered.
I went to the 21:00 showing of Frank and there were just a few groups of 2 scattered around the room - I figured we could make up a row/a row and a half if we all sat next to each other. It was quiet and calm.
Tonight was also Eurovision (which I normally watch, but I'm glad I chose Frank over it tonight), a big event that takes up a lot of everyone's lives on the day.. As I was sat there watching the film, I was thinking about how great cinemas are. You lose all track of time, you have no idea whether it is dark or light outside, that facebook message or important email doesn't exist until you get home and you don't need to think about it. It's so nice to be extracted from everyday life to sit in a dark room and experience entertainment like this.
What fascinated me about tonight was that when the film ended, no one moved. Everyone was still sat there, soaking up every second of the credits with each other. It was actually very sweet to see couples still cuddled up, people still reading off the screen, sitting back, motionless, enjoying the music and appreciating everything they had just seen.

So.. shout out to everyone who made that cinema experience perfect - everyone who proved exactly why cinemas should still be around and why Harbour Lights Picture House will always be my favourite cinema.

Safety Not Guaranteed

Safety Not Guaranteed was a nice little movie that was a perfect mix of everything. Comedy, romance and a main plotline that is based around figuring out this mysterious, potentially insane man and his plan to go back in time.
At first, I was unsure of the characters and actors. I've seen Jake Johnson as Nick Miller in New Girl and Aubrey Plaza as Julie in Scott Pilgrim Vs The World. I was hesitant about whether their characters would work, given Plaza's deadpan style and the demolishing of Johnson's previous innocent and flappy character from New Girl to a somewhat vile, composed man in Safety Not Guaranteed.
However, I was proved wrong - they worked incredibly well.

The characters of Darius and Kenneth were intense, with Kenneth being almost scary due to his potentially mad characteristics and unpredictability. You didn't feel safe, but wanted to through Darius' clear feelings for him, shown by the way she looks at him and smiles around him. (Kudos to Mark Duplass for creating such a uneasy character).

I thought the mystery surrounding the concept of the time travel was brilliant. You really don't know what is going to happen - it's restricted narrative at its finest. (And I'm not going to say what happens - spoilers).

Definitely worth a watch.

We Are The Best!

We Are The Best! is a Swedish film set in 1982 about 13 year old punks.
It has this incredibly realistic feel about it, through the use of cinematography and diegetic sounds which can either be a good thing or a bad thing. In this case, it suited the film very well but I feel that if I hadn't been stuck in a cinema, and I was watching it by myself, I might get bored.
In terms of plot, I appreciated the fact that it didn't have the big Hollywood movie plot of introduction, problem, resolution. Instead, it focused in on just a moment in time in these girls' lives.

It was amusing in places due to the script and its funny way of documenting the way young teenagers think. Moments that stood out were how slight feelings for a boy were discussed as being 'in love' and freaking out about a small cut on a hand: "I don't want to die!".

The character of Karla was interesting. She would be a bit of fun to be around, but any longer than a few minutes, I could see myself getting very irritated with her. Karla captures the essence of pesky year 7 students that push the boundaries a little too far.
The more subdued character of Bobo was just as interesting and is the one that gets left behind by everything and everyone.
I feel like there is a character for everyone to relate to in the film, be it the wannabe punks full of pretentious rebellion or the quieter characters getting upset by the tiniest of things.
The advert says it all: a film for everyone who's 13 years old, a film for everyone who will be 13 years old, a film for everyone who used to be 13 years old. 

(Although, I must admit that my favourite character had to be Karla's dad who gets an undignified yet hilarious appearance during the credits and several very funny scenes).