That was the week in which…
Neil Patrick Harris was confirmed as the host of next year’s Oscars.
Harris has had a pretty unconventional career path. Starting out as Doogie Howser, his subsequent journey has included huge success on a Broadway, a starring comedy role in How I Met Your Mother and a sideline as a magician – all of which was subverted with his much darker role as obsessive Amy admirer Desi in Gone Girl.
It’s a pretty safe choice. Less confrontationally controversial than previous male MC Seth MacFarlane but evidently as quick-witted, his experience as a four-time Tony Award host should make him the perfect fit. Plus, his profile is still ascendent rather than being someone who feels over comfortably familiar.
As big as the hosting responsibilities are, ultimately it’s the winners who history will remember. We still have four months to run so everything could change, but using the less-than-scientific analysis of who the bookies have listed as the favourites, the likely big winners are currently:
Best Picture: Richard Linklater’s Boyhood is the clear favourite with Unbroken, Interstellar, The Imitation Game and Birdman following. Somehow you can get (admittedly long) odds on Begin Again winning.
Best Director: Linklater again with Alejandro González Iñárritu for Birdman being the nearest contender. The chasing pack is full of big names including Angelina Jolie, Christopher Nolan and David Fincher.
Best Actor: Michael Keaton’s reinvention in Birdman is the obvious leader at this stage, although Eddie Redmayne’s transformative performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything feels like a contender.
Best Actress: Julianne Moore leads the way for Still Alice followed by Amy Adams for Big Eyes. The pick of the rest is lead by Brit duo Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) and Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything).
Best Supporting Actor: J K Simmons is the favourite for his borderline psychotic teaching methods in Whiplash. Mark Ruffalo (Foxcatcher), Ed Norton (Birdman) and Ethan Hawke (Boyhood) are the nearest contenders.
Best Supporting Actress: Boyhood’s Patricia Arquette seems to have this sewn-up already if the odds are to be belived.
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The big film: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
“The biggest human violation is no doubt Megan Fox, who continues to show she's a vapid, terrible actress, incapable of emotion, facial expressions, or the ability to close her mouth.” Or so says one of dozens of scathing reviews at IMDB.
It’s hard to recall a single performance which has been greeted with quite as much venom as Megan Fox’s role as reporter April O’Neil in this relaunch of the bafflingly popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It’s hardly Fox’s fault that her wannabe reporter has been crafted with all the character of a breezeblock, or that she seems to have been cast solely as bait for Weekend Dad to take his little one to see his favourite franchise of the Nineties. Sure, she’s not going to win awards or probably even more than a tokenistic compliment, but Fox really isn’t that bad.
Such ire has deeper roots. In a film entitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, it’s a little odd for April to be the dominant character. But even that isn’t the main fail: as personalities, the Turtles themselves are virtually indistinguishable, and the story they’re placed in does little other than chart their back story before racing to a finale that you’ve seen in at least one other blockbuster this year alone.
There are, however, moments which are worthwhile. True, this Turtle feel is hardly a meta-festival of self-awareness and post-modern irony, but it repeatedly pokes fun at itself with basically successful results. Sometimes it even exudes a little charm, such as when our reptilian friends burst into an impromptu bout of beatboxing, or a snow-bound chase scene which is pure big dumb fun. But then a turtle will make a comment about Fox’s attractiveness (which really does pose disturbing questions about inter-species breeding) and you’re reminded that a film can’t survive on a feast of flashing images and cacophonous noise.
Neither bad enough to be compellingly awful or deserving of any adjective that edges towards “good”, this is a shoulder-shrugger of a reboot.
Also out: Time is Illmatic
With a subject matter as legendary as Nas’ debut, there are endless stories that director One9 could have told within Time Is Illmatic. Whilst blurbs and press releases boast appearances from the rapper’s celebrity peers, the film is far from a cheesy music channel re-telling of the album’s inception, instead taking a much more personal approach. 20 years on from the album’s release, Time Is Illmatic reminds us of the context behind one the greatest rap album of all time; tracing back Nas’ creative roots to the Mississippi where his father grew up, and explaining the economic struggle that forged the central character of the record: the Queensbridge projects.
While it’s a success story, it isn’t without tragedy and doesn’t gloss things over. In Nas' words “this ain’t about just music.” The film also shares the tales of the countless Queensbridge dwellers who didn’t make it out; his childhood friend Ill Will who was tragically gunned down, and many of those who turned up for the liner notes photoshoot that now reside within prison cells. It feels as though we’re watching Nas make the realisation of his achievement and what might have happened without that debut record, and that is what makes Time Is Illmatic such a powerful film. Words: Grant Brydon
Also out: Björk: Biophilia Live
If you caught Björk’s Biophilia show live, hooray for you. If you didn’t, the cinematic release of the theatrical arm of the Icelandic artist’s fascinating, ambitious and pioneering multimedia project is perhaps the next best way to involve yourself in this immersive, hypnotic stage experience.
Recorded at London’s Alexandra Palace, Björk: Biophilia kicks off with the elfin singer arriving on stage to the lyrical strains of David Attenborough’s voice: the pair collaborated on a documentary that goes hand-in-hand with this show.
He’s talking about nature, sound, technology and humans, and how all are linked. She’s kitted out in a Cronenbergian mass of sinew and organic matter masquerading as a dress; her hair a giant, multi-coloured, matted mass, like something out of the sea.
Images of life flash up – some are instantly recognizable, most look like microscopic images blown up. A choir emits sweet, melodic sounds: the one constant amid the whirl of colour, movement and strange audio created by a collection of unusual instruments, and Björk’s incredible vocal gymnastics. Capturing the live performance while at the same time adding another layer to the Biophilia experience, the film is a crucial part of the bonkers Icelander’s artistic venture. Words: Kim Taylor-Foster
Shorts
Last weekend’s UK box office provided an easy way to find Gone Girl as the film remained at the top with a cool £1 million more taken than nearest competitors The Maze Runner (#2) and Annabelle (#3), both of which themselves took double that of the new One Direction concert film at #4. The Top 15 was rounded off with other new entries including The Rewrite (#9), the Met Opera’s performance of Macbeth (#11) and ‘71 (#12).
Former England footballer Michael Owen opened himself for ridicule again by admitting that he’s seen just eight films – although his prior claim that he finds films boring is a bit rich for a man who makes a living by Being Michael Owen. And his #HateFilms hashtag is pretty ludicrous for an artform that’s both incredibly broad and accessible – it’s a bit like hating music or pizza or cats or oxygen. I guess he cracked after Seabiscuit.
Finally, a fan-made, shot-for-shot remake of The Empire Strikes Back was released. The Rebel Alliance’s attack on the AT-ATs is pretty cool (around the 27:30 mark) but even that’s surpassed by Vadar and Luke recast as cats (1:52:05).
Words (Unless Stated): Ben Hopkins
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