Martin Film Blog

I said this one would take a little longer! It also ended up being much longer than I expected, I think that when I started writing this I intended to do something concise and more of a traditional review of the film but yeah, that didn't end up happening - this is my longest post yet. I know I said I'd do another two posts this year and seeing as this one took 7 months I don't think that's likely, unless I have an idea that really grabs me. If this ends up being the last post of the year then I'm going to say that this one is so long that it should count as two or three posts. My blog my rules. I spent a lot of time on this from around April through to June and then stopped working on it until last week, I'd kind of become scared to look at it in case it was a huge mess that needed scrapping but it was actually pretty close to being finished when I did eventually look at it. Taking some time away from it definitely helped, and after a week of tinkering I think I'm finally happy with it. I will now anxiously try and decide what to write about next.

On Shame and the Power Of Visual Storytelling

Shame is a 2011 drama directed by Steve McQueen with a screenplay co-written by Abi Morgan and McQueen himself, the film is a character study of Michael Fassbender’s Brandon, a well-dressed, successful businessman who lives alone and is also a sex addict. We are introduced to Brandon’s routine lifestyle then witness it unravel when his chaotic sister Sissy (Carey Mulligan) arrives and asks to stay for a few days. Exploring addiction and the absolute control it can have over someone’s life, Shame delves into what happens when a person is forced to confront their dysfunctional existence. 

I started this one last year and only just got round to finishing it so that's why this post didn't take quite as long, I imagine that the next one will take a little longer since I haven't even decided what it's going to be about yet! I chose to write about Fat Head because it was something a bit different and I thought it could be a fun read. I also wanted to see if I could do something a bit shorter than my first two, but as you'll find out it's actually the longest one yet, so that element didn't quite work out as planned. Let's hope I got the fun bit right...!

How Fat Head Taught Me To Listen To Myself

Recently after a night out my girlfriend and I were lounging around watching YouTube videos and in one of them, I heard the documentary Fat Head mentioned. When I looked up what Fat Head was about it was described as a response to Morgan Spurlock’s Super Size Me, the documentary in which Spurlock eats exclusively at McDonald’s for every meal, for 30 days. He is advised by his doctor to stop the experiment midway through as it was causing problems for his health, but Spurlock continues and ultimately becomes lethargic, unhappy, and gains weight. Throughout the film Spurlock discusses America’s obesity problem along with the rise of fast-food corporations, suggesting that those corporations are part of the issue with the increase in obesity. The documentary is a fun watch, as of course it is fun to watch a man try and eat McDonald’s every day for 30 days.

Well here it is, my second post is finally here 7 months later. I really am going to try and do my best to post a little bit more regularly on here - I actually wrote this one back in October last year but just never got round to posting it, which is weird because I'm really happy with it. My plan is to do at least 4 more posts on here this year and now since I've said it it has to happen. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!

On Enemy and Letting Go

Enemy is the sixth feature film directed by Denis Villeneuve, it stars Jake Gyllenhaal and is (loosely) based on José Saramago’s novel The Double. The film follows Gyllenhaal’s Adam, a dissatisfied teacher who discovers he has a doppelgänger and gradually becomes obsessed with meeting him. In order to be able to talk about what I want to talk about I will be spoiling the entire film, so make sure to watch it first if you’re interested.

Rough Notes on The Darjeeling Limited and Presenting Characters Naturally

The Darjeeling Limited is Wes Anderson’s fifth feature film, co written by himself, Jason Schwartzman and Roman Coppola (Schwartzman’s cousin). The film focuses on the estranged Whitman brothers; Peter, Francis and Jack (Played by Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman respectively) travelling by train through India in an attempt to achieve spiritual enlightenment and as Francis suggests early on in the film, ‘become brothers again like [they] used to be’. The film is preceded by Anderson’s fantastic short film ‘Hotel Chevalier’ which fits as a prologue to Darjeeling, showing a glimpse of Jack and an encounter with his ex-partner portrayed by Natalie Portman.