herbiehancock

No 122 – The Princess Bride Director – Rob Reiner Some films just age. This is not always detrimental to the story, but it means that the film, as a whole, is stuck in a certain period. From the opening sequence and the plinky plonky 8bit graphics, this film is very much of the 80s. It doesn ’t matter that much because it isn ’t trying to be futuristic or show technology of any kind. It is a fairy tale, and can give off a timeless feel. And it does. It is a wonderful film to watch. It just all looks pretty budget. It is obvious that a lot of the ‘outdoor’ shots are actually in a studio, they look artificial and are littered with the most obviously polystyrene rocks I have ever seen. It isn ’t helped that whenever they do have an outdoor shot (especially if it is a wide angled shot) the film stock (on my DVD at least) goes all grainy. It feels a bit like a 70’s sitcom, when you could easily tell which sections were filmed with which camera because the image quality wo...

No 343 - Monsters Inc Director - Pete Docter (Co Director David Silverman ) I am a very vocal fan of Pixar and yet I feel I had criminally neglected this film. The last time I saw it was at the cinema. 9 years ago (cripes). So I sat down to watch it and I loved it. Probably loved it more now then I did then. - Now I admire not only the cracking story (which I'll discuss below) but also the amazing visuals. What I like about Pixar is that they constantly challenge themselves. Whether it is with the story telling side (can they make a silent movie about a lovable robot) or on the animation side of things. In the same way that Finding Nemo was a challenge to animate water, or A Bug's Life was about organic shapes - here the challenge was Fur. And in the example of Sulley they manage it beautifully. I'll chat about the characters later. Lets begin with the story. It continues the Pixar tradition of being all about story telling and cracking central concepts. This time it...

No 90 - When Harry Met Sally Director - Rob Reiner Once again, this little blog allows me to rack up one of the ( alarmingly many) classic films that I have never seen. Today is all about the rom -com. Or relation-com. Or friend-com... because 90% of this film isn't about love but about the relationship and friendship between two people and how it develops. I'm naturally wary of romantic comedies. I have discussed my preconceptions with them before, it is too easy for the film to fall into a formulaic and predictable set up. For the film to lose any sense of drama. We know the couple get together at the end... that is the point of a romantic comedy, what is important is the journey. You want the film to be interesting and different. You want the characters to be likable and have development. We all know where we're going, lets enjoy the ride. Luckily the story is superb. It talks about the subtle way that a friendship can build up. Beginning with two brief moments separate...