Golden Globes

Tonight the film awards, The Golden Globes, get awarded at a glittering ceremony. I shall record the programme and watch during the day tomorrow trying to avoid any references to it in the daily paper.

In order to be up to scratch for the Golden Globes I watched 4 films on Thursday and Friday of last week.
"The Hangover" which is a Las Vegas-set comedy centred around three grooms-men who lose their about-to-be-wed buddy during their drunken misadventures, then must retrace their steps in order to find him. It is genuinely funny and beautifully directed by Tod Phillips, who keeps the lot rolling along. However the stand out performance for me was Zach Galifiankis as Alan. He is the oddball added to the quartet almost as a last minute thought and lacks all social skills both as a man and as a mate. On Several occasions he made me roar out loud. Zach also appears as one of the employees in "Up in the Air" and I spotted him immediately so how cool is that!

I then watched "Paul Blart: Mall Cop", written by and starring Kevin James as an overweight mall cop or security guard caught up in a raid in the mall. Kevin James is a very funny actor and with great sensitivity (and I loved his performance in "Hitch"). However I watched it for Jayma Mays, the feminine lead and love interest. She plays Emma, the OCD teacher in "Glee", one of my favourite TV series.

Friday I saw "Avatar" in 3D, the second highest grossing film in the history of cinema since the "Titanic". The effects and events are mid bogglingly good and no doubt James Cameron has pushed some of the technical boundaries of film making. The film itself is immersive and I happily wallowed in it for the 161 minutes of its duration. in my younger days, in sci-fi films Earth was invaded by aliens from dead planets intent on taking over ours. In "Avatar" the humans are the aliens trying to take over Pandora as they have killed off Earth. I was intrigued by the characters and the cultural references but not entirely won over by them. The idea of a disabled marine being able to inhabit the body of an avatar is magnificently evoked. The film also evoked my acrophobia on a number of occasions as mountains are suspended in the sky and the indigenous people fly dragons.

Flying was the subject of the last film, "Up in The Air". If this film doesn't win an award then there is no justice. The performances are marvellous and the direction (by Jason Reitman, responsible for "Juno")is subtle and masterful. George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, who flies ten million air miles criss crossing America laying off the workforce on behalf of cowardly bosses. Clooney is magnificent - he uses to tics or techniques - he just delivers a character who you understand every moment he is on the screen. I am amazed Vera Farmiga, who plays Ales, "Just think of me as you, but with a vagina", is not nominated as she gives a performance that is as great and as subtle as that of Clooney. The other female is Anne Kendrick as Natalie, a green horn to whom he shows the ropes and his system. She just adds to the magic of a great film!