Empire States: The Difficulty Of Defining Modern Animation
Posted on Wednesday January 25, 2012, 11:26 by Helen O'Hara in Empire States
There's been a bit of back-and-forth online over the last couple of days about whether or not The Adventures Of Tintin qualifies as animation. It appeared on the BAFTA nominations list in the Animated category, but was absent from the Oscar list* so we can't be sure whether it qualified there or not, or simply didn't win the votes. So is the entirely-performance-captured film real animation? Do we need to redefine our categories? What's going on?
Here's my position so far: I am inclined to think The Adventures Of Tintin is animation. At the same time, I'm OK with calling Avatar live-action - but no less an authority than animation guru Andrew Osmond, occasionally of this parish, would call that an animated film as well. Why do I consider one animation and not the other? Well, I'm not sure I can entirely justify it but let's give it a go.
Those who consider Tintin live-action do so on the basis tha... Continue reading... Comment Now (15 comments)
Back To TopEmpire States: The BAFTA Nominations: Back-And-Forth
Posted on Tuesday January 17, 2012, 16:47 by Helen O'Hara in Empire States
As we've done in years gone by, here are two Empire staffers discussing this morning's BAFTA nominations. This is just to get the discussion going: add your own comments below!
Helen: Well, here are the BAFTA nominations for another year. It’s like another Christmas for film fans, albeit one with slightly underwhelming presents and that sick and guilty sensation that you get after eating too many chocolate coins. The Artist is out in front – which I’m OK with – followed by Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (benefitting from British double-dipping; it’s eligible for more categories).
Let’s start with what’s here a... Continue reading... Comment Now (7 comments)
Back To TopEmpire States: Which Profession Is Most Misrepresented Onscreen?
Posted on Monday January 9, 2012, 11:40 by Helen O'Hara in Empire States
 I awaited the debut of Eternal Law on ITV last week with some glee. It's a show about barristers who are also angels, and from the adverts I hoped for some massive legal clangers of the sort one used to see on Judge John Deeds. When the first episode failed to deliver anything completely outrageous* (beyond the obvious concept of barristers as angels), I got to thinking about which professions are most victimised by TV and film, their jobs distorted out of all recognition by the screen. I think I'm going to need input from our readers, especially those with first-hand knowledge, to really get to the bottom of this, but let's consider a few case studies first.
First of all, the law. I qualified as a barrister before chucking it all in to become a penniless journalist, so this one's closest to my heart and easiest to judge. Speaking of judging, there's the aforementioned Judge John Deeds, which saw a member of the judiciary interview witnesses while sitting on a jury, and regu... Continue reading... Comment Now (45 comments)
Back To TopEmpire States: Deconstructing The Iron Lady
Posted on Thursday January 5, 2012, 17:37 by Helen O'Hara in Empire States
 Let’s get the uncontroversial out of the way first: Meryl Streep is utterly brilliant in The Iron Lady. Not only does she utterly convince as the Margaret Thatcher the world was all familiar with as PM, but she also convinces as an old lady facing the disappearance of her world. The problem is more with the film: it feels like the wrong film, at the wrong time, about the wrong woman. And it left me quite seriously conflicted and more than a little angry. Since I can’t afford therapy on an Empire salary, let’s discuss those feelings here.
Full disclosure: I don’t like Maggie Thatcher. Like many people who remember her time in power, and anyone with a left-leaning bone in their body, I find her politics obnoxious and her policies destructive (we’re still feeling the effects of initiatives started under her reign). It’s interesting that, on the few occasions in this film where she actually articulates a specific policy, the result is black,... Continue reading... Comment Now (22 comments)
Back To TopEmpire States: Every Franchise Would Be Better With The Rock
Posted on Thursday December 15, 2011, 16:16 by Helen O'Hara in Empire States
 Today we saw the first trailer for GI Joe 2: Retaliation, and it looks like it's another case where The Rock, added to an existing but slightly limp franchise, reinvigorates said franchise and makes us all love it again. He already did it with The monumental (emphasis on "mental") Fast Five, and now he's doing the double. But which other franchises could benefit from the unique input of the Team Bring It captain? We consider a few options.
Step Up 5: To The Ring
We're assuming it's too late to insert The Rock into Step Up 4, but in any case the fifth instalment seems an auspicious spot for him given Fast Five's success. We've seen street dance meeting ballet, and meeting 3D, and meeting all sorts of world dance and even the semi-martial art capoeira, but you know what they haven't crossed it with? Wrestling. That's where His Rockness comes in. He would teach the undoubtedly-obscure stars of the film his wrestling moves to combine with their dance moves for so... Continue reading... Comment Now (33 comments)
Back To TopEmpire States: Screen To Stage: The Ladykillers
Posted on Thursday December 8, 2011, 12:10 by Helen O'Hara in Empire States
 The Ealing comedies are still some of the finest ever committed to screen, films that are as wise as they are witty. And one of the chief among them, jostling with Kind Hearts And Coronets for the, er, crown*, is The Ladykillers, wherein Sir Alec Guinness portrays a massively creepy master criminal intent on a great train robbery. The film has now hit the stage, at London's Gielgud Theatre, with Peter Capaldi in the lead, a Graham Linehan-adapted script and direction by Sean Foley. The good news? It's significantly better than the Coen Brothers remake of a few years back, and really a hilarious night out in its own right.
The story remains unchanged: Capaldi plays the nefarious Professor Marcus, a man of dubious academic distinction but unquestionable criminal intent. He inveigles his way into the spare room of little old Mrs Wilberforce (Marcia Warren), whose Kings Cross home provides the perfect base for his plan to rob a security van. There, ... Continue reading... Comment Now (1 comment)
Back To TopEmpire States: What's The Worst First-Date Movie?
Posted on Thursday October 20, 2011, 10:47 by Helen O'Hara in Empire States
Myself and a few of my colleagues went to see Shame last night, the new Steve McQueen film starring Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan. Now it's an excellent film and highly recommended, with one caveat: on NO account go see it with a date who you do not know well. It may, with its depiction of meaningless sex and desperate loneliness, be the worst first-date film we've ever seen - certainly the worst which is also a very good film.... Continue reading... Comment Now (72 comments)
Back To TopEmpire States: The 100 Best British Film - What Qualifies As British?
Posted on Friday October 7, 2011, 16:31 by Helen O'Hara in Empire States
We've just published our list of the 100 Best British Films of all time, and since I can already sense the nitpickers honing in on it, let's discuss what makes a film British. Is it the cast and crew? Shooting location? Money? Director? Some combination of the above? Or an indefinable sense of Britishness, loosely justified by some vague connection among its makers?
... Continue reading... Comment Now (8 comments)
Back To TopEmpire States: The Harry Potter Studio Tour - First Look!
Posted on Monday October 3, 2011, 10:11 by Helen O'Hara in Empire States
 It's still more or less a building site, but last week I donned hard hat, hobnail boots and hi-vis vest* to visit what's officially called the Warner Bros Studio Tour London - The Making Of Harry Potter, in development now at Leavesden Studios. So here's what I learned from the day, and what you can expect come next spring when the attraction opens to the public.
First of all, this is not The Wizarding World Of Harry Potter. There won't be butterbeer on sale in the cafe and it isn't about immersion in the fantastical world of Potter or people running about in robes organising Quidditch games (or whatever. Empire budgets have not yet allowed me a jaunt to Orlando to find out for sure). This is more about the techniques behind the film, a tribute to the immensely talented artists and craftspeople who built the sets for the eight films and brought JK Rowling's books to life. It's about giving everybody a chance to experience what only a handfu... Continue reading... Comment Now (7 comments)
Back To TopSmall Screen: Supernatural Vs. The Vampire Diaries: Battle of the Buffy Successors
Posted on Tuesday September 27, 2011, 15:20 by Helen O'Hara in Small Screen
 As our forumites will know, I've been into Supernatural for some time now. And just recently, I've been attempting to get into The Vampire Diaries as well. What I've discovered are two very different contenders to Buffy's throne, so let's discuss their similarities, their differences, their strengths and weaknesses, shall we? Before we start: I'm deliberately not counting True Blood here because it's openly aimed at a different, older, less geeky demographic, nor am I considering the cancelled likes of Moonlight, Blood Ties or whatever. This is about ostensibly-at-least teen-friendly shows wherein improbably good-looking folk encounter supernatural creatures.
First of all, Supernatural. When it first started back in 2005 I more-or-less instantly dismissed it as Buffy-for-boys, a cynical attempt to remove the kick-ass ladies from the vampire slaying equation in a move which I objected to on girl power principles and rejected sight unseen. My bad. It's pretty much entirely awesome. OK, season one sta... Continue reading... Comment Now (33 comments)
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