Tag Archives: Ang Lee

The BAFTA EE Rising Star Awards – why you should be excited for the nominees

7 Jan

 

The shortlist has just been announced and now it’s in your hands to vote for your top newcomer to the world of film.

To help you make up your mind, here’s a little bit about each fantastic nominee…

 

Elizabeth Olsen.

Probably for the last twenty years she’s been known as the little sister to the extremely famous Olsen Twins and their numerous franchises. But, Elizabeth diligently stayed in school, she studied at the Tisch School of the Arts, and despite some smaller roles in the past, burst on to the scene at  the end of 2011 in the critically acclaimed Martha Macy May Marlene. Some would say she was robbed of an Oscar nod for her performance, but that hasn’t stopped her throughout 2012, other films such as Liberal Arts have been well received by critics and 2013 will be a big year for her with two films eagerly anticipated – Very Good Girls, with Dakota Fanning and the Western remake of Oldboy with Josh Brolin.

 

Andrea Riseborough

Working her way up the ladder with smaller parts in Made in Dagenham and Never Let Me Go, RADA graduate Andrea Riseborough has also starred in the ill-received remake of Brighton Rock and the even more ill-received W.E. (Madonna’s dire directorial outing). Although these have dive bombed at the box office, these film failures have been nothing to do with Riseborough’s talent, which resonates on-screen. She brings an air of old school talent, charm and dedication, from her early parts as Margaret Thatcher in The Long Walk to Finchley to her latest outing – Shadow Dancer, where she managed to pick up a well deserved BIFA prize for Best Actress. It’s clear that if she wins this award or not, Riseborough will have an exciting career ahead.

 

Juno Temple

Heralding from a film family, Juno Temple has managed to steadily work in a wide variety of films, from Killer Joe to The Dark Knight Rises (blink and you’ll miss her as Selina Kyle’s sidekick). Starting off as a child actress, as she’s got older she’s received critical acclaim for roles in films such as Atonement and Notes on a Scandal. Ever diverse Juno Temple is clearly an actress who likes to challenge herself and with American dark fantasy thriller Horns coming out later this year and also starring Daniel Radcliffe, it looks like 2013 is going to be very exciting for this actress.

 

Suraj Sharma

If you were going to be cast in one film to launch your career, Ang Lee’s Life of Pi was most certainly the pick of the bunch. Chosen over thousands of other hopefuls, nineteen year old Suraj Sharma commands the seas and a Bengal tiger in this epic tale of a boy lost at sea. Very few people could have played the part so well, and for a newcomer, he deserves all the praise he’s going to get for this film. Outstanding performance.

 

Alicia Vikander

Very few people can steel the show from Keira Knightley, but in Anna Karenina, Swedish actress Alicia Vikander does just that. Vikander’s Kitty is so genuine, sweet and compassionate towards Domhnall Gleeson’s Levin that she is easily the best thing about this film. Her next international film outing will be in The Seventh Son, opposite Ben Barnes, Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges and its pretty clear that she’ll quickly be making a name for herself outside of her native Sweden in the months to come.

The BAFTA Awards takes place on the 10th February so make sure you follow @bafta to find out more details on how to cast your all important vote.

Enjoy the magic of The Life of Pi

10 Dec

Screen Shot 2012-12-08 at 17.48.35

Plot

A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor … a fearsome Bengal tiger.

The Good.

If you had ever had any doubts about the use of 3D, cast them aside now. Life of Pi provides one hell of a journey, appreciated ten times more through the amazing depth that 3D can provide. Move over Avatar and James Cameron, Ang Lee may truly be the master here as he combines glorious colour with exceptional innovation in this area. Life of Pi has to be up there as one of the major contenders for Best Picture at next years Oscars.

If you’ve read the book, hopefully you wont be disappointed, and if you haven’t read the book, after watching this film you may just want to pickScreen Shot 2012-12-08 at 17.49.08 it up and give it a whirl. Life of Pi is a heart-warming tale of religion, belief, tragedy and determination. It is anchored by the exceptionally talented newcomer Suraj Sharma who plays Pi, and it’s his one man show that will keep audiences captivated for just over two hours. There are brilliant levels of humour, surprise and emotion throughout the whole of this film which will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout and as emotionally and physically drained as the lead actor by the end.

Ang Lee, takes something which was once deemed unfilmable and uses his incredible skill as a director to strike a balance within his visual storytelling to allow the audience to be completely captivated with the story that is told and to fully believe that this really could happen. One of the clever things Lee also manages to do, is cast relative unknowns. At one stage Tobey Maguire was attached to the film, but replacing him with Rafe Spall was a good strategic move as it does not distract the audience because of who he is, and allows the character of  “writer” to remain ambiguous to some extent as a secondary character to the story. The real focus must be the teenage Pi. Even Irrfan Patel as the adult Pi is secondary character for two thirds of the film, but comes into his own in the last part of the film to really tug on the heart strings of the audience – be prepared to shed a tear or two!

The Bad

Some may be dubious about the use of CGI in this film, but fear not, this issue becomes a mere flicker in your mind at the beginning and you Screen Shot 2012-12-08 at 17.49.36quickly fall into the trance of the action taking place in front of you, and the CGI becomes nothing but a fully working and authentic zebra, chimpanzee or Bengal tiger. Every detail on each animal is so precise that its hard to separate what is real or fake, if any. What you also remember here is that Suraj Sharma is essentially acting with a tennis ball on a stick for the majority of this film, and you begin to really appreciate the clever choice that Ang Lee has made in casting him. How he feels that level of emotion and connection to these animals who were never really there must take years of acting training to even come close, yet Sharma manages it effortlessly and is utterly captivating. Another testament to this brilliant casting is in the final few scenes, where Pi recollects his experience, and in one medium close-up shot you watch him tell the story once more and the emotion radiates from him brilliantly.

The Ugly Truth

This film is a must see at the cinema. Whether you are a fan of the book or not, Life of Pi is truly a spectacle of cinematic brilliance. It brings the captivation and intrigue of films like Slumdog Millionaire, tugs on your heart strings like Bambi, and is probably one of Ang Lee’s most ambitious and strongest films to date.

Life of Pi opens in cinemas on the 20th December.