The View from Swanvale goes to the movies.
It’s a little late, you’ve probably already seen them, but I’m going to have my say about what I’ve been seeing at the movies.
Inglorious Basterds
- It was much heralded, it has star pulling power with Brad Pitt on board and I understand it’s hugely popular in Israel. Of course if would be. Any film which features a group of Jewish American soldiers and a hot Jewish heroine, taking it to the Nazis in World War II would be. And it is pretty good. By now it’s been out long enough for you to find out what the story is, so I won’t bore you. It’s well done, it’s slightly cool and it”s bloody gory! It’s very much a Tarantino film, and while I like it, I’m left thinking that, maybe, it’s time Quentin moved away from films which just seem to show homage to his pick of the 70’s slasher B Grade flicks?
District 9
- When a film, where some of the major characters are computer graphics, acting alongside flesh and blood characters, and you like both, and believe the story, that’s a triumph. District 9 is a great yarn, well done. It’s themes of racial (or maybe specieal) segregation, and tolerance, ring through. (is “Specieal” even a word? It relates to species, so if I’m wrong and you’ve got a better choice, let me know.) Like “The Hurt Locker” it has a cast of unknowns, Unknowns for the moment, but I’m betting we’ll be hearing more from many of them. (Except for the ones who are computer graphics that is) It also highlights what’s happening in South Africa’s film world. Again I’m not wasting time telling you what the movies’ about. It’s been out a while, and I’ll leave it to the experts to give you a synopsis. But. have a look.
The September Issue
- The story around the crafting and work that goes into the September issue of American Vogue magazine, and some of the characters involved, including Anna Wintour. If you think you’ve heard that name, think of any footage or doco on fashion, where you see a skinny woman, with a bob haircut, wearing sunglasses, sitting on the front row. She’s the editor of American Vogue, and a major driver and influence in the fashion world, not to mention the butt of many jokes, subject of gossip and vitriol, and the inspiration for “The Devil Wears Prada”. She’s not the only fashionista we meet in this little snapshot, and definitely not the star, (I’ll let you decided who is when you’ve seen it) but she is the most fascinating character we meet. The film gives a nice bit of insight into the magazine, fashion and the characters involved in both. But, if like me, you find the world of fashion, and many of those involved in it, ridiculous to a fantastic degree, “The September Issue” is living proof of why movies like “Bruno” and “Zoolander” feel less like fiction and more like reality TV, and why the fashion world deserves to have the piss taken out of it mercilessly.
