A favour to ask

Hi everyone,

As you know I am a great supporter of anyone with autism and I was asked by a proud and lovely mum called Denise who's son Sam is a Finalist in a Film Festival.

He has made a 5 minute short film about his girlfriend who has Downs Syndrome and it would mean a lot for you guys to vote for him.

Here is the link if you want to vote:

http://www.focusonability.com.au/FOA/films/Aptitude_with_Attitude_849.html


Please give him all the support for a wonderful and Creative Autistic person!!


Many Thanks

Terminator Genisys - The Film for a New Generation That Kicked Butt!

In 1982 James Cameron, a little known writer and Director decided to write a screenplay that would become one of the most famous Sci-fi films in history! 

Fast Forward to 2015, Genisys has been released in cinemas after a long wait for fans, questions surrounding the film and especially it's plot since the last two Terminator Films were such a disappointment with plot flaws and low box office success see's the Terminator film franchise fall from grace.... that is until Now! 

 When I first heard the whispers of a new Terminator film was in production I was sceptical! 

The third and fourth films in the series were not the same and had many disappointing factors to do with the original narrative and in the fourth film no Arnie to be found. 

So when the whispers became more fact than fiction and slowly film magazines such as Empire and Total Film had begun to unearth the truth about Genisys and it's narrative I began to become excited and looking forward to what would be the deciding film for the Terminator at the Box office for a modern day audience who were too young or had just been born when the original two films were made!

 The Original Terminator was a small indie production that was made on a rather small budget compared to it's modern day successor. 

And although James Cameron may not have had any direct involvement with Genisys there is a respectful additions of  both Terminator 1 and Terminator 2 that are then all intertwined together in a amazing new film that will blow you away! 

I was born in 1992, so when I stumbled onto the Terminator series, I was a young adult, the nuclear war threat was over and social media was just beginning to boom with Facebook and Twitter becoming new additions to MySpace, a very young Youtube and MSN Messenger! 

I was blown away with the idea that a computer system that should be protecting man kind could indeed gain it's own mind and make decisions and build robots that only had one programme and that was to kill. 

What got me more interested in the actual original film series was the idea that you could change the course of history and indeed time with one simple act. Cause and Effect could be altered all in a simple change to the actual cause that sets off the effect later down the line and all it all started with Sarah Conner. 

Linda Hamilton the original Sarah Conner 1984

When we are first introduced to Sarah Conner in the first Terminator, she is a sweet young girl who is trying to make a living by being a waitress in primitive 1984. 

Little does she know how important she is and up until the point where the Terminator comes to kill her does the reality sink in with the aid of her love interest and protecter Kyle Reece , a solider in the Human Resistance from 2017.

Kyle knows his mission and will do anything to keep the mother or the resistance safe. Groomed by his leader and son of both Sarah and Reece John Conner to fall in love with his mother. 

Reece is your stereotypical Hero Lead in any film. 

He knows his mission, he has his flaws and difficulties from his past but is willing to do anything to save his damsel in distress and in doing so saving the world. 

With Genisys the world is a different place and this includes 1984 itself. We're actually heading into Back to the Future Territory with the explanation as in to how this alternate 1984 occurs and this is just the beginning to what happens to be the best Terminator that doesn't have any involvement from it's creator! 

Now and Then- Sarah Conner

Emilia Clarke is well known for her performance in HBO's 'Game of Thrones', but with the challenge of recreating such an iconic character of Sarah Conner it must of been the role of a lifetime. The Sarah Conner in Genisys reminds us of the  Sarah Conner we remember from Terminator 2 - Judgement Day. 

Linda Hamilton's performance in Terminator 2 is legendary. Sarah Conner is no more a young girl but a fierce and strong woman ready to fight for her and her son's survival.

Clarke transports us as an audience back to Terminator 2 instantly. Her harsh and strong mentality and alternative reality to the original Conner is revealed  and when she first meets Kyle Reece it doesn't go as well as planned. 

Kyle Reece - AKA Jai Courtney

For Kyle Reece it must have been a shock to find out the woman who you are supposed to protect and save, is well already looking after herself and doesn't really need help from him. 

Reece has witnessed the cause to the alternative 1984 and is brought into a world where Terminators are already running riot. 

Not only that he has to face his first task of not only running away from the police but do you remember the T-1000's? 

                                    Well they're back but in 1984!!!! 

T1000 1991

 The surreal and terrifying prospect of meeting not only the most amazing machines that first appeared back in 1991 in T2 but to then get your head round the possibility that they have been sent back to 1984.

As a Terminator fan this can literally make your head spin... and this is kind of a spoiler. I'm trying to keep as much as I can a secret but this film is worth going to see to find out more. Because this is just the tip of the iceberg!!

And heres when the shock of what has already to Sarah Conner kicks in for any Terminator Fan! 

I don't really want to give the narrative away!!! I really want you to go and see it for yourselves! 

Young Sarah Conner being Saved by the Terminator! 

But one more little secret wouldn't hurt now would it? 

We all know that The Terminator was sent to kill Sarah Conner in the original film but this isn't the original!! NO NO. 

Give us a Smile Arnie! 

One of the biggest shocks you will get at the start of this film is that Sarah Conner has relied and lived with the machine that has tried to kill her. 

Arnie is back looking a little bit older than he did back in 1984 and well not in the best condition as a terminator. 

He's had a few more years and his outer human skin is beginning to age more and more. With Wrinkles and Grey Hair you can't believe your eyes when you first see him again! He has also got a pet name as Sarah calls her terminator affectionately as 'Pops'.  

The story goes that in 1979 a young 9 year old Sarah is made an orphan by not a T-800 but the later model T-1000 who murders her parents. 

Meet T1000 2015! 

So it seems fitting that the T-1000's are running around in 1984 and are very hard to get rid of.

The edge of your seat ride of a narrative speaks volumes and adds in realities that shouldn't mix well together. Terminator 1&2 were amazing as  individual films. The trick with Genisys that really works is that it has been able to blend both films together seamlessly.  Adding in extras that you can't imagine and still able to entertain and surprise effortlessly. 

There is one more character that we cannot forget about as he is the key to linking all the amazing narrative together and his name is John Conner. 

John Conner with Terminator in T2 Judgement Day 1991

We all remember the John Conner of 1991. He was a rebel with a troubled and some what disruptive attitude. 

Forced into foster care due to his mother being locked up in an insane asylum for her telling the truth about the Terminators and the Future. 

Since the last time we have seen John, he is now a man. A strong leader who has risen to his destiny with the battle scars to prove it. 

His attitude to 'SkyNet' and the Terminators is one with venom and loathing. 

His only need in the first ten minutes of the film is to make sure he succeeds in destroying SkyNet forever! 

John Conner 2017

The John Conner you meet later is different and not in a good way. He is the reason to why there is an alternate 1984. 

Not in terms of his own doing as he has had a little help from a familiar face that we will all recognise in the UK as the 11th Doctor in Doctor Who! 

I would just like to say to Matt Smith that you were amazing in this film.. but I don't think I can look at you in the same way ever again!!! 

Genisys should not be looked upon as a reboot of a classic film, rather as a instalment of a trilogy that lost it's way. 

Whether you like it or not, please do not write Terminator Genisys off as another money making film that will disappoint. It was written and produced by fans of the original films who asked the permission of James Cameron to make a Terminator Film that would not disappoint not only Cameron himself but more importantly you the fans at home. 

SkyNet's threat is now not about Nuclear weapons but more a close to home topic that we all use. Social Media and Technology that we rely on daily for information, entertainment, protection and even saving our lives. Genisys is a new reality for a modern day audience with the echo's of the old in the world of Terminator. 

It might not be about the Nuclear Threat anymore but more about the infiltration of Technology into our everyday lives. 

Terminator Genisys is out now in cinemas. 

The Wolf Of Wall Street

From the outset this film was something I wanted to watch with Leonardo Dicaprio as the leading man, but also as it is a Scoresese film.
The film for me was more than I expected and was quite grotesque from the opening scene, with naked women and men running around, I never thought that the finacial system was that choatic,  with Drugs and Sex being some of the main themes.

The film is definately more aimed at men, and although I enjoy Leo's protrayel of main protagonist Jordan Belfort, I found myself cringing in places and not really enjoying the sexism that the film had throughout it with women being almost treated like objects rather than people. I know that as a woman I'm maybe reading to much into the film and the way women are treated. But in it's defence it was set in the 1980's.

The film won a Gloden Globe for best comedy, but like everything Scrosese does it has a deeper meaning to it and the film although full of funny moments, including Leo off his head on drugs shouting for someone to get off the phone in slurred manner I find that the underlying narrative is one that is dark, and that dark humour is something I love the most. Money is no object in this film and based on the true story, you see someone build up an empire, only through his own greed and recknessless have it all taken away from him with the FBI being involved, shopping in your closet friends and then spending three years in jail for that instead of twenty.

The other main thing that caught my eye is the way in which family matters didn't seem important with sex with prositutes before his wedding night and during the marriage with two children in the family unit.Punching his wife in the stamoch at one point in the end of the film.

Overall the film is a good watch, although long.... I think it's about 3 hours but if you have a nervous disposistion then do not watch this film as scenes are graphic from the outset.It's not my favourite Scorsese film of all time but it is a good film.

Life of Pi

There is something about this film that is just haunting but with 4 Oscars to it's name you can see why.

On the surface you think that this film is just about a boy and tiger forming a bonding after a ship-wreck but as it turns out there is a lot more meaning to this film than meets the eye. The beauty of the cinematography and CGI enables the story to go further and brings out emotions and provokes thoughts that you wouldn't even have crossed your mind.

The story is terrifying as Pi tells is just a fairytale version of the true events, using animals to explain characters that were actually on the tiny life boat, the story you believe is up to you, but in the end you want to believe the story of a boy trapped on a tiny boat with a tiger in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Pi as a character even as a child was and is diverse, always discovering new forms of religion and trying to understand them. Born a Hindu in french India, he discovers Christianity and Islam. A wise child his father teaches him a lesson that will be scar him for life, watching as tiger Richard Parker kills a goat in front of his eyes. I must explain his father runs a zoo, the family decide to sell up and move to Canada taking the animals along with them.
The film explores the notion of religion and the notion of God which is something so intricate in detail and to hear from a teenage boy is also strange but quite humbling.

In the end the true story is:
The Cook on the ship kills a sailer after he severely broke his leg and then decides to eat him, after that the cook becomes more violent and before Pi's eyes kills his mother and throws her overboard to the sharks swimming in the water. Pi then retaliates killing the cook and doing the same actions that he had done to his mother. He then has to survive on his own until he washes up on the shores of Mexico.

Which story we all want to believe is:
A Zebra, A Hyena , A Orangutan, A Tiger and of course Pi are on this tiny boat in the middle of the ocean, The Hyena eats and kills the Zebra and then the Orangutan before the Richard Parker the tiger kills the Hyena. With Pi still on boat he then stays away building a raft and allowing Richard Parker to have his own territory. Over the course of the film, he begins to train and form a bond with the tiger. Suffering with him throughout the stormy seas and feeding him. Once the boat hits ground in Mexico the tiger runs off in the jungle and doesn't look back.

The realisation you have is that the tiger is Pi. It is a beautiful film and well worth a watch.

radio show Live

Hello,

I forgot to mention but I have now created my own radio show about all things, it's an extension of the blog.

You can tune in from 2pm via:

www.salfordcityradio.org
             or
The tune in app


So tune in.
Also tweet me via @lilmissziggy

Enders Games and Hunger Games Catching Fire

Over the past two day I have been catching up on my collection of films that I haven't as yet watched. Blame University. They are the people that have made sure that any films that I decide to watch is not an option.

Something important with these two films are the actual political themes that run through the films although both set in the future they have something that just makes you think about what the world might be coming to although they are in fact fiction.

The scary realisation of this themes are that they are aimed at younger people- and use young people as their main characters.

The Hunger Games is fantastic, not since Harry Potter have I been this excited although I haven't read the books as I got bored half way through the first chapter of the first Hunger Games book - and the film is slow to pick up pace but that is because I'm used to right here right now narrative! The second is more punchy and increasingly more violent.
Instantly you start to hate the Capitol and what it stands for and you'd rather see Katniss and the rest of districts begin to rise up and over throw the people in charge which happens in the last bit of the film and it is revealed what actually happened to District 13.
 You realise that the only reason is that the Capitol and President Snow is frightened that a war will kick off once the up rising begins and that in the end Katniss is the symbol of this resistance.
The more graphic scenes of the PeaceKeepers killing people in the street for rising up is something that I don't expect in 12A film.
There have been news reports that young people should not watch or interact with any form of media that might promote violence- this paranoia is nothing 1971 A Clockwork Orange is an example of this being banned from Cinemas and Multiplexes around the world. But my argument is that if the violence is within context and there is a reason for it to be happening then why not. I don't recommend that you guys start letting your kids watching Dexter or Saw but there is something about the way this film deals with a reality that is formed from fear- fear of living in a world that is chaotic and uncontrollable where authorities are then deciding to enslave the masses and keep them under the thumb to control them and therefore save themselves from this fear that is irrational.
I watched the Hunger Games with my friends, one was a massive fan the other hasn't really watched the films and doesn't understand the context and she actually said:
"I don't understand why they are doing this?" 
Which is understandable- but a good point. I also got told off for predicting the films narrative and what is going to happen next.

Enders Games was different as it explores the possibility that using children who are good are war games could actually then lead a fleet to defeat the enemy. The difference with the lead character Ender Wiggins is that although he is a genius he also loves the enemy once he understands them. And that

Love will hold him back. The ending to the film made me cry... it highlighted how brutal the Human Race can be to unknown life forms- trying to understand them is not an option , they are a threat. Ender's thoughts about the threat and whether or not they should be understood is the key to this films narrative. The way in which Ender has this ability for compassion is seen as a weakness but could in fact be an actual strength.






Both films look at how young people can overcome obstacles that adults can't and their intuition is a massive thing in both narratives as well as compassion and the understanding of pain and suffering that other people/aliens can feel. Both Brilliant films watch them!
 See trailers below:

Enders Games: 

The Hunger Games Catching Fire :

A very happy 2014 and some great news

Well it has been a while since I was last on the blog but i'm back!  So a very happy 2014 to you all!!! 

I have some news which is to do with film and so i'll tell you the story:

Ok so I'm at my work experience which happens to be a small radio station when I volunteered to do a live show with nothing to work with and half way through the manager comes in amd asks me do I want my own show which of course I agree to. And after a while he comes back in and then asks me about content and then the light bulb moment happened. I've always wanted to do a film type show on radio and I have 2 hours to play with! So I am now going to be creating and presenting a film radio show called for now 'The Monday Film Club!' which is awesome with news and reviews from film so basically I'm on top of the world! 

So that is my news! 

Also will be blogging alot more ! I promise!