More than a little bit in awe.

By the way, my week is over!! How are you all bungs? x

For the banter...

I have quite a mixed relationship with the High School Musical saga. At best, I think it's frivolous, kitsch fun, with some catchy tunes. At worst, I think Vanessa Hudgens is a terrible actress, the plotting contrived and some of the lines so bad they wouldn't be out of place in a Lars von Trier film. That said, on the whole, I've had lots of fun with them, and shall list my 10 favourite songs over the three films.

10. I Don't Dance

Not gonna lie, Ryan is easily my favourite character from the films, and in this video he exhibits some of his camp swagger. Loves it.

09. Can I Have this Dance

Right, so, Troy and Gabriella can jog on, but there is something fundamentally quite sweet about this song.

08. Stick to the Status Quo


07. You Are the Music in Me

Yay

06. Just Wanna be With You

Ryan and Kelsey are my favourite duo from the film. When me and Luke saw this for the first time, this scene made us lol so much, because of the wink he gives us, as well as the the little glissando he does on the piano. So much win.

05. Getcha Head in the Game

There's more artistry than is given credit for in this video. I mean, just the way they got the basketball skidding to go in time with the music. That's well clever.

04. Scream

The most melodramatic of the 10 videos on my list, I could not stop giggling when the camera angles turned and Zac Efron tries to look brooding, but instead just looks constipated.

03. Bet on It

So much raw emotion.

02. Now or Never

Now or Never is a definite karaoke favourite of me. The part where Gabriella stands out of the audience and sings is still one of the funniest scenes in film.

01. We're All in this Together

When all is said and done, the original song from the first film is still my favourite. It holds so many awesome memories for me, not least performing in my Sixth Form Revue, where this song was employed. It's just a lovely, catchy song really.

Oh, and I hate myself for this, but, I have to concede.... there are moments when Zefron is actually bungable.

Brick Lane (Sarah Gavron, 2007)

Based on Monica Ali's novel of the same title, Brick Lane is a story of the stifling life led by Bangladeshi wife and mother of two Nazneen Ahmed (played by Tannishtha Chatterjee). Residing in the eponymous Brick Lane in the East End of London, she is married to a man with the best of intentions but the worst of executions. Her life consisting of one day more mundane than the last, her interest is piqued by the arrival of the sexy Karim (Christopher Simpson), a spirited and youthful man who brings out a side in herself she hasn't seen for a while. However, her husband is busy pursuing half-baked plan after half-baked plan in order to raise the funds to transport them back to Bangladesh, when she finds her own wants conflicting with those of his.

Like the source material, Brick Lane is easy to admire and difficult to love. The cinematography by Robbie Ryan is gorgeous, and we are treated to a plethora of rich, lush colours that each evoke the beauty of Bangladesh. The performances are strong, particularly by Chatterjee, who poignantly captures the protagonists' plight, her dilemma between old and new, wants and roles. However, despite having a standard running time, the who plot feels too dragged out and full of uninteresting sketches to feel worth making a film. The shooting of the film was bogged down by controversy after another (including a very public slanging match between Salman Rushdie and Germaine Greer) but in all honesty, it was definitely a case of much ado about nothing. The film isn't terribly cutting edge or particularly risque at all. It's just a well-shot, occasionally interesting film about a woman and the choices she finds herself making. Good on Sarah Gavron for trying, but next time, I'd like to see her having a little bit more fun.

Screening (02/11/09 - 08/11/09)

Russian Dolls (Cédric Klapisch, 2005)
Entertainingly sweet romantic comedy sequel to L'auberge espagnole. Whereas the 2002 film centred on Barcelona, Russian Dolls takes us to Russia as our likeable protagonist Xavier (Romain Duris) tries to find out exactly what it is he wants from wmoen, and life. The parts of the film set in London were ridiculously picteresque and there were quite a lot of subplots that grated, but there was a sweet enough conclusion for me to overlook most of the film's flaws. Kelly Reilly was bung.

An Education (Lone Scherfig, 2009)
Gentle comedy about growing up, love, culture and finding yourself starring Carey Mulligan as 16-year-old Jenny, a smart and sassy 16-year-old residing in Ealing with aspirations of reading English at Oxford. One day, on the way home from school, she is propositioned by Peter Sarsgaard's David, and soon he's taking her on weekend breaks to Oxford, expensive holidays to Paris and giving her the kind of education she will never find in school. Terrifically written by Nick Hornby and with a strong central performance by Mulligan, An Education is a very likeably and enjoyable little film, topped off by a show-stealing turn by Rosamund Pike as a ditzy society girl. There's one icky part where Peter Sarsgaard's character suggests Jenny loses her virginity to a banana, but apart from that, fully recommended.



The Damned United (Tom Hooper, 2009)
Extremely intelligent film about Brian Clough's ill-fated stint as manager of Leeds United, a reign that lasted only 44 days, this is one of the best films about football that I've seen for a while. Michael Sheen's central performance is exquisite - he captures Clough's arrogance and hubris perfectly, and Timothy Spall is poignant as the long-suffering Peter Taylor. And the script by Peter Morgan is pitch-perfect, capturing the voices of football fans, players and managers in the time period perfectly.

The Invention of Lying (Ricky Gervais & Matthew Robinson, 2009)
Amiable enough comedy, but it felt like a bit of a backpat for Gervais. I loved the cameo from Shaun Williamson and Stephen Merchant, though! Ahhh, Extras...

Thoughts on last night's episode of X-Factor.

The theme for songs this week was film tunes. Being a film blogger, I was more than a bit excited about it.

Stacey - Stacey is by far my favourite contestant and Son of a Preacher Man is one of my all-time favourite songs and this performance pretty much made my Saturday. I thought Stacey did sexy very well, without going over the top and giving off a totally hoodrattish Scarlett Johansson vibe. The fact that she wasn't so keen on the overrated film that the song came from just makes me love her more. Stacey for the win.

Olly Murs - gave his performance a lot of energy and exuberance but like Louis and Danni said, something about his performance jarred.

Lloyd Daniels - he's one of the cutest things I've seen in my life, but, as we lose more talents every week, it doesn't seem fair that he stays. Stand By Me is an absolute classic and he completely underwhelmed me in his performance of it, not to mention the fact that he misses just about every other note. Sorry, Lloyd.

Jamie Archer - I thought it was quite amusing about the fuss Louis kicked up over Jamie singing the song "Crying" as it was from Gummo and not a very well known film, but then again I do see his point - pretty much every song has been in some film at some point so that does pretty much leave the door right open, which goes against the whole point of having themes. That said, Jamie sang the song absolutely beautifully and the emotion he felt shone through.

Lucie Jones - don't like her any more. Camp Rock: shitty song, average performance and annoying over-usage of the wind machine. Hope she jogs on soon.

Danyl Johnson - him starting the song by sitting on the stage was a horribly cheesy touch, and his supposed "best vocals" didn't sound anything more than OK. That said, I'm glad he got a proper haircut, and that he found middle ground in persona between the cocky bastard that he has come across as, and the domestic abuse victim he looked like last week.



John + Edward - They sang Ghostbusters. As usual, a horribly incestuous undertone ran through their entire performance. They just can't sing, can't dance, can't do anything other than piss me off. I mean seriously, what the bung?



Joe McEldry - the judges were horribly snarky about this being too "drama schoolish" but they can run along, his rendition of Circle of Life was beautiful.