Huck on Film

Shame

Before I continue to go on and praise the performances of not only Michael Fassbender (the future Mr Huckett) and Carey Mulligan but also director Steve McQueen, I have to heed a warning to all my faithful readers. Do not, and I mean do not, watch this film with anyone. I have previously read that some films are made especially for personal viewing. Not in a seedy way, but because of the connection you can make with a film. It can be deeply personal, apparently. This concept never made sense until I watched Shame.

Fassbender plays the handsome yet conflicted Brandon. His life appears perfect until the reappearance of his estranged sister, Mulligan. Now, you may think this sounds like nothing out of the ordinary from a film plot but you would be wrong. Shant go into too much detail, but life turns out to be not so grand for Brendan as he begins to analyse his lifestyle, culminating in one of the most heart rendering endings to a film I have seen in a long time. Twenty on-screen minutes that firmly places Fassbender within the top actors currently on the silver screen. His performance, alongside Mulligan, is second to none, with both wholeheartedly taking their respective characters with such raw talent that it is spellbinding.

My favourite scene which shows off McQueen’s talent is the ‘date scene’. Oh my word. Perfectly orchastrated. Perfectly acted. Perfectly shot. A scene I could watch over and over. Just perfect. 

This is a must see film for those who want something out of the ordinary, that pushes the limits of what you think you can handle and has you applauding but not fully understanding why!

P.S. You’ll be very proud that I didn’t mention once about Fassbenders nudity and continual on screen bonkinh. Maybe that means I am growing up.

Huck’s Rating - 9.5

Emotion - raw

Quote - “I’m not playing the victim. If I left, I would never hear from you again. Don’t you think that’s sad? Don’t you think that’s sad? You’re my brother.”

Introducing: Douglas Booth

Not sure if you’ve  heard (and if you haven’t, not sure where you have been) but we have some seriously hot, young and most importantly British acting talent surging through for 2012. Rather than regurgitate the likes of Shortlist, GQ, Empire and list out this fabulous new bunch, I thought I would focus on my pick for stardom in 2012. Douglas Booth.   

Once I have your attention back from staring at that face which was clearly a gift of God, I would like to talk a bit about him. I first came across Douglas after renting Christopher and His Kind and popping it in the DVD player one evening. Though not hugely impressed by the made-for-TV film, I was impressed by Booth and his protrayal of the wholly innocent Heinz. You could literally read the characters thoughts/feelings/emotions through Booth’s eyes. And then came another TV appearance as lead in BBC’s Great Expectations. One of the best things to have come from the broadcaster all year, and he definitely had a part to play in making it a splendor. And the reason? He can actually act. You may think me slightly odd to be a fan of an ‘act-or’ based on this, but with the amount of run of the mill, boring, seemingly gorgeous ‘actors’ out there, it is becoming a forgotten art. FYI my ex would be so proud of me right now! 

Anyway, I digress. There is a lot that will be happening for Booth this year including the upcoming Life At These Speeds. But more interestingly, I look forward to seeing his take on playing Romeo in Carlo Carlei’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Not much information out there currently, but it is already on my ‘to watch’ list, which grows day by day. 

Now, keep your eyes peeled for my 2012 wrap up post where I can declare “I told you so”

Golden Globe | 2012 Winners | Film/Movie

Best Motion Picture - Drama

The Descendants

Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical

The Artist

Best Actor - Drama

George Clooney, The Descendants

Best Actress - Drama

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Best Actor - Comedy or Musical

Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Best Actress - Comedy or Musical

Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn

Best Supporting Actor

Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Best Supporting Actress

Octavia Spencer, The Help

Best Director

Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Best Screenplay

Midnight in Paris

Best Score

The Artist

Best Animated Feature

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Best Foreign Language Film

A Separation (Iran)

Films for 2012…

A Dangerous Method (February) - put Michael Fassbender in any film and I am there. However, think I am slightly more interested in this one due to storyline. The history books allude to a serious bit of animosity between psychologists/friends/colleagues Freud and Jung, whack Keira Knightley into the mix and I can hear the Oscar nominations already.  

Prometheus (June) - lots of noise out there about this one, but not much a lot of information! Some are saying it will be the prequel to the successful Alien franchise, others saying that it is totally unrelated. Who’s to know? Either way, excited to see what Ridley Scott has to offer. And yes, it has Fassbender in this one too. 

The Dark Knight Rise (July) - the third (and final?) in the Dark Knight film series, which I am far too excited about. Looking stunning as per usual, this film sees our favourite Batman come back to defend Gotham City after being underground for eight years. Expect a lot of raw, man on man action. 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (December) - there seems to be a bit of a theme this year with prequels/sequels/spin-offs. It is basically the new film trend for 2012, alongside the fairy tale gone crazy (keep reading). But, I for one can not contain my excitement for The Hobbit - yes, I am a LOTR geek. 

Snow White & The Huntsman (June) - as mentioned, the fairy tale gone crazy genre continues into 2012, this time, it is Snow White. But she seems to have gone bad ass. You will have seen the trailer from my previous posts, but look out for great performances from Kirsten Stewart (do I like her?), Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth.