I literally lost my ability to breathe a mere few minutes ago when I learned that Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead in his apartment today. It really saddens me to see how such an enormous talent is being taken away from us – the lovers of film – in this most tragic event. Considering his young age of 46, it hurts even more to think we will never see him on screen again. Continue reading
It’s quite amazing, because to me it doesn’t really feel that long, but exactly a year and two days ago I published my first post on this blog (the review of “The Impossible”). Having now gone back to read it over once more I realized how much this hobby of mine has changed me over the course of this year. Not only did I get to hone my writing skills, but also I think I now have a clearer idea as to where this blog is going to go. With the added bonus hindrance of having limited time, I definitely see myself taking a more relaxed look at the new stuff coming out in cinemas and focusing more on different types of articles. Especially when I take into account, that the most popular entry of mine (“The wife that refused to die hard…”) has nothing to do with being a straight-up review, it might just be the thing I would be doing more often. Continue reading
Since Christmas is almost behind us and we’re definitely headed towards the end of the year, I think it’s as good time as any to sit down and have ‘a think’ about what’s going on with this blog. Sure, I could save it for the New Year’s or something, because resolutions and related promises-to-be-broken-sooner-or-later are what make New Year’s Day, but nevertheless… I’m extremely glad to be back typing away, as the things in life are starting to take shape, and as a result I get to save up some more free time. To me, this means more or less that I will get to watch more films again and get back to writing about them. Continue reading
As the old adage goes: under no circumstances should you ever begin with an apology. It simply looks bad and puts the reader (or the audience if you’re brave enough to speak in public) in a very uncomfortable frame of mind. Therefore, I should probably refer to what I’m about to say as more of an announcement. I feel I owe you at least this much. It might seem odd to be doing things like that; after all this blog doesn’t have much of a wide following, but I’m not most people and if there’s at least a handful of people who enjoy my writing, it feels perfectly valid to make them aware of anything that might influence the content they read. Continue reading
As the title states, Quentin Tarantino turned 50 today. So, on such a splendid occasion I’d like to wish you all the best the universe can come up with for you, and for myself I’d like to wish at least another fifty years of awesomeness in cinema that you’ve been providing me with until now.
As I’m writing this, I’m actually watching “Jackie Brown” – the least watched Tarantino movie ever. I could really come up with the best 50 scenes from Tarantino movies ever, or arrange his movies in order of fantasticness (Top three being 3. Inglorious Basterds, 2. Reservoir Dogs, 1. Pulp Fiction), but it’s all been done before. Nevertheless, I’d like to say that Quentin is a special person for me (and I’m not saying this just because I’m inebriated). He held my hand while I ventured into pop-culture and dipped my toes in cinema. Quentin Tarantino will always have a special place in my heart and I would like to see at least 30 fantastic films with his name on them, just because I’m selfish.
So, I decided to give you the very first short film shot by Tarantino. You can know a man best by his shoes, right? So here they are. Enjoy.
And again, Quentin – if you’re reading this (and you’re probably not) – Happy birthday. You’re one of the reasons I am who I am. Forget all the actors you made, my taste in cinema got heavily influenced by your work and I can only thank you for it.
Yes, you heard me! That’s right, I said it and I’m not taking it back! I couldn’t be happier than to see Quentin walk away with an Oscar for the best original screenplay. After all, it is his crown category. There. I’m happy.
The Academy Awards have been awarded, the champagne has been drunk, the carpets have been rolled back in, the tuxedos have been laundered and the limos have been returned to that place that rents limos for Hollywood extravaganzas. It’s all gone now and we can now recollect Seth MacFarlane’s inappropriate jokes, Jennifer Lawrence’s slip up on her way to the stage, Quvenzhané Wallis’ doggie-shaped purse or suspiciously large amount of male Oscar recipients with long blonde hair. Continue reading
‘Tonight’s the night… And it’s going to happen again and again… It has to happen.’
That quote from “Dexter” pretty much sums up the atmosphere surrounding what is going to happen in the next couple of hours. The awards season is about close again with the most widely recognized ceremony in the history of everything ever – The Oscars. I have to admit I feel a bit like a serial killer (but with a code) on the prowl now and I am quite certain I’m not the only one. Many of us have our own personal predictions, favorites and what-not. Therefore, I figured I would devote a bit of space to the Oscars and see how I do when it comes to making predictions. Continue reading
With only as much as 35 days left until the Movie Christmas (The Oscars, cough), I realized I have only seen 7 out of 24 nominated features and that includes only the so-called main category nominees (which includes “The Hobbit”, “The Impossible”, “The Avengers”, “Skyfall”, “Prometheus”, “Ted” – though it was nominated only for a song, but still counts – and “Django Unchained” that I saw today). That gives me less than 33 % rate of success. If I include the remaining 5 full-length animations, 10 documentaries (long and short), 4 foreign features and 10 shorts (both animated and live action) that sums up to a grand total of 53 films to watch. And right now I’m sitting at a measly 13.2 %. However, it just so fortunately happens that many of these either are in cinemas right now or will be premiering in the UK in the following weeks, thereby giving me a good chance at seeing them before the Oscars are awarded. So with the internet as my witness (I am still talking to myself, aren’t I?) I solemnly swear that I shall do everything in my power to watch as many nominated films as humanly possible before the big day. I had never done this before, but I do think it would be a nice way to spend the remaining month. Let the games begin. And they shall begin tomorrow with my little review on the “Django”. As much as I’d like to do it now, I really can’t be arsed to think straight at this ungodly hour.
Peace.
Whilst really trying to come up with a couple of words about “The Hobbit” without resorting to name-calling, foul language and shaking my head in utter disappointment, the Oscar nominations were announced (full list can be found here). Now I can feel a bit like a “real” blogger. There you go. Here’s the news and I gave it to you. Happy?
Don’t get any ideas. I’m really in no place to comment on the nominations as I kind of failed to see most of the nominated films (and it makes me a sad panda). I’m really happy though for Quentin Tarantino for getting a few shots at the Oscars (including the original screenplay) for “Django”, which I have yet to see (sadly, UK is a bit behind). Wouldn’t it be fantastic if one of my favourite writer/directors was singled out in such a way?
What can I say? The nominations reminded me of the fact that I missed so much over the last year or two, due to real-life commitments a.k.a. the wheel of pain… I mean, trying to finish and write up my PhD… Now that the dark times are behind me, I really have to find a way to see the “Lincoln” to make up my mind about it (12 nominations and I have no idea what to think about it <runs with his hands above his head screaming like a lunatic>).
But why do I care so much about the Oscars? Everyone knows they are corrupt and political and the academy members club baby seals on their down time. And yet, we talk about them, we chat at work on the following morning and even if we’re not genuinely interested in the subject, we can say a few words about this, that and the other concerning the awarded films. For me, the Oscars are much like Christmas – it’s the time when I can receive presents and regardless of how much I love the individual items I get, I enjoy unwrapping the gifts. And say what you want, but personally, I can’t find a single film that got the Best Picture Oscar (well, the Oscar of Oscars, right?) that was genuinely crap. Maybe I could squeeze in “Chicago”, but my judgment might be biased due to my general distaste for musicals. That aside however, the only reason I could not like a particular Oscar-winning feature, is because I was rooting for the other guy.
Truth be told, most if not all films picked by the academy for this highest distinction deserve to be watched and should be seen by the general public. And that’s exactly what I intend to do, one way or another. I don’t really think I’d be disappointed. I’ll keep you posted.
Hello Everyone!
Welcome to my personal corner of the interwebs. My name is Jakub and this is really awkward given the fact that at this point in time I am talking to myself. Or am I?
So, what in the world is all this? This is my humble abode where I decided to write and share with you – the almighty internet – some of my thoughts on films. I know there are a gazillion other blogs out there because everyone with a computer and internet access can contribute to this wonderful creation of the worldwide web, but I don’t really care. This is mine and I am not letting it go.
I hope this blog will become my permanent project where I could freely speak my mind on film-related things. Why film, you’d ask? Well, film has always been an integral part of my life; I grew up around it and continued to enjoy it for years on end. As a generally interested guy (yes, I take interest in a lot of things, and I mean a lot) film in my view has always comprised the perfect balance between so many things that one would take interest in; it’s as if film was a pub where music, photography and theatre would meet up every night for a couple of beers to hang out as friends. Maybe that is one of the reasons why I always loved and enjoyed watching and most importantly talking about films. This I know.
What I don’t know is where this blog is going. I think I know where it’s not going, though. I’m not going to be yet another source for film-related news. There are other sites and blogs that do it much better than I possibly could. Let’s face it, I’m not a pro and never will be. I’m an enthusiast, I’m in love with films and when this becomes a chore – well… game over.
In meantime, once again hello and welcome, fellow traveller!
J.
Talking About Film 