The Ugly truth.

The Ugly Truth starts and finishes like many other American ‘romcom’s’ that are being churned out by the dozen right now. 2 main characters, 1 male, 1 female, their lives on 2 separate paths that inevitability collide in a predictable explosion of love and gooeyness! But there is something about this film that makes it a little easier to digest then some of its competitors.

            On one hand I have my critical side telling me that this is just rubbish. Made by a film company to rake in the dollars regardless of how similar this film is to all of the others, On the flip side my fairytale like mind loves a good girly film and it did make me laugh so coming to a solid conclusion about this film is not an easy task.

             Remember Meg Ryan in ‘When Harry met Sally’ You know the scene, In the café when Meg does her ever so convincing fake sexual climax, well this film has its very own version but unfortunately I don’t think Katherine Heigl will be going down in the Hollywood book of fame for this imitation as Mrs Ryan did back in 1989 although the events leading up to it are very humorous and some what true to life.  

            Half of the main story is about an outrageous guy who appears on TV to tell the nation about ‘The Ugly Truth’ the ugly truth basically being that he has a problem with women due to being heart broken and never getting over it and women don’t know how to read men’s signals or act in the right way to keep them interested. After a while this becomes very tedious and I did start to wonder if the scriptwriter had a chip on his shoulder, which he was expressing through this film.

            The fighting and the sexual tension grows stronger throughout until the ever-predictable ‘near miss’ scene. The near miss scene is always some thing along the lines of the couple nearly getting their dream but then real life prevented it. All romcom’s must have a ‘near miss’ scene, without this, us, as the audience wouldn’t be able to emotionally connect. Without the ‘near miss’ scene tears of joy would not be shed throughout the whole auditorium of women all hoping for that same happily ever after ending just before the credits roll up or the photo montage begins.

            Although I’d love to turn round and tell you how much I hated this film, to my surprise and deep embarrassment, I didn’t. I quite enjoyed it. Its not the sort of film that you would make the effort to go and see on a Saturday night out, but, early one Tuesday morning when the cinema is pretty empty and there is no line for the popcorn stand, its very pleasurable. It’s the kind of film you can sit back and watch without having to think too much. You can switch off and let your brain absorb it like a sponge while you fill your belly with naughty treats and sweets.

            If you like the generic American romcom’s then you’ll love this. Its funnier then other I seen recently but the story line is just as heart warming. Very slapstick and very obvious and its got the added bonus of seeing Gerard Butler’s perfectly formed torso so don’t take the boyfriend girls he’ll only get jealous when your drooling over your ice-cream.

Base Naked Review!

Base Naked

One of my favourite bands is The Jam. Firstly because Paul Weller is the MOD father and totally gorgeous and secondly but probably most importantly their deep, pronounced bass lines carry the songs forward acting like the spine of the tunes. I mention the above because Bass Naked’s bass lines are definitely reminiscent of The Jam. Powerful, Punchy, Totally carry the songs while the vocals glide over the top smoothly and without hick-up, Well all apart from when James gets to excited and falls into the speaker at Oxjam but that’s another story! I’ve seen Base Naked twice now, once at Magnet and once at Bumper. On reflection the larger stage at Bumper suits them and their sound as apposed to the closed in, dark and dinghy stage of Magnet. Base Naked are only a 3-piece band but their sound is BIG! It’s like classic stadium rock on miniature, which is a refreshing change from the poppy, indie bands that seem to be the new prototype for all live acts these days. The only problem with sounding like a classic stadium rock band is that your stage presence needs to match the powerful, uplifting sound that’s coming out of your instruments and unfortunately Bass Naked don’t quite have this yet. When watching them on stage its almost like they are playing along to a sound track. They have not been together long and they have the sound just right and with a little work on the stage presence they could bring Led Zeplin (esk) stadium rock back into the main stream. The lead singer resembles a young nirvana fan with his floppy hair, all I kept thinking was bring on the head banging! His voice is clear and diction perfect but this all could disappear with bad technicians. The drummer seems nervous when playing live and tends to stiff up a little. You can see the concentration on his face but in my opinion he shouldn’t worry because he is a great drummer, by letting himself go he could be a really great drummer, Keith Moon standard almost. Thrash it out, that’s what drums are for after all. Song – 7 hours from the sun …. So Nirvana if any one is reading this that has never heard them before and you would like to hear one song of theirs this should be the song you pick. It’s amazing! They have found their niche market and need to play a larger venue with dirty, dark cubbyholes where people can ‘rock out’ without fear of being seen. You could see the crowd looking around, watching out for people eyeing them up and all they really wanted to do was get the rock hands out and jump around to the bands many songs including their incredible Led Zeplin covers. These boys could quite possibly be the politest rock band around at the moment. They were full of thanks to the small but very enthusiastic crowd and the organisers of the event but boys, we should be thanking you. Don’t thank us, we love your band and we are privileged to hear you play in any setting. All in all, for a new band, these boys are great and I really enjoyed getting lost in their loud and beautifully sculpted rock world for an hour and would be more then happy to pay and see them again and again for a little light release for hum drum everyday life.

Finding Neverland Review

Finding never land is a story that opens with the feeling of being in the most exquisite theatre ever to have been built, in the privacy of your own home curled up on the sofa. Due to this being a film it is very difficult to portray the grandeur a proscenium arch theatre but this film does it.

          It opens with the writer hiding behind a curtain watching his audience come in. You can almost feel his nerves building by the look in his eyes. Everyone in the audience looks stunning, the colours and materials in their clothes show that going to the theatre was and is a special occasion.

          Everyone remembers being a child and going to the theatre for the first time. The ornate carvings, the bright red seats, the ice cream lady in the interval, it was like stepping into another world. Only special productions earn the right to be performed in such a beautiful space to the innocent eyes and beaming smiles of its adoring audience. The production has to match the wow factor of the space so as it doesn’t become lost. Peter pan is such a show and being performed anywhere else would be a crime. For 2 hours this magical film comes to life, you follow the path of Peter pan’s writer, J.M Barrie played by Johnny Depp, to an enchanting world where Never Land was discovered.

You can bring the magic of the theatre to anyone, anywhere whether it be seen on a screen by me when I watched this film or into someone’s home with a private live performance adapted specially for the one person who missed it, as happens at the end of the film to the mother played by Kate Winslet. Space doesn’t make the performance but rather frames it to give it a particular feel.

          The way this film is directed, I feel, is one of a kind. He manages to take the viewers along the amazing ride, seeing the world through a child’s eyes and at the same time managing to address serious issues in the characters lives.

          There are many sub plots the director has to deal with but there are 3 in particular that must be played and addressed in an in-depth way. First of which is the heart ache and frustration of Peter Pan’s writer, J.M Barrie, being torn between what he feels and knows is right and what society tells him is right. A man as a nanny who’s actually a dog, A grand mother who inspires the character of a pirate with a metal hook for a hand, The sweetest mother in the world who’s very being forms Wendy Moira Angela Darling and a young boy called Peter, the most stubborn of all the brothers. who’s name was used to create one of the most iconic children’s characters of all time, Should someone be forced to compromised their creativity because of what people think? Second of which is the story of the relationship with the family who inspired J.M Barrie to compose the best play of his life and Thirdly the illness that takes over the boys mother which eventually leads to her death. The director and writer of Finding Never Land manage to portray all these sub plots but still maintained the sparkle, magic and imagination all the way through by clever camera angles and the use of special effects.

          In the story, when the play is finally performed, in the most perfect theatre, you have come so far with the story you feel a part of it. The directors decision to film close ups of the children in the audience laughing and clapping makes it all the more pleasant to watch because it brings back those memories of the being young and entering this brand new world called ‘The theatre’.

          When the mother dies its symbolised by walking deep into the wonderfully created world named Never Land where she’ll spend the rest of her days among the fairies, pirates and magical creatures created by the man who loved her dearly and truly. This heart felt ending helps the whole story come true with no harsh reality endings. This keeps the magic alive but still enables you to connect intensely with the basic sub plot of the mother and the boys who needed someone to give them hope and belief.

          Imagination is a precious thing that’s enables people to see and do anything they wish. As we age we loose this ability to escape. It helps us through hard times, lost times and in-between times and this film captures that completely allowing you to totally loose yourself and grow along with the characters as J.M Barrie Finds Never Land.