AllThingsAnglophile

Well. One out of two ain't bad.

( The Snowmen )

Les Miserables Film

( 24601 )

After the disappointments of Burton's Alice in Wonderland (the most un-Burton film ever?) and Dark Shadows (Burton's crassest film ever?) I was beginning to think I had lost the Burton love. Reviews for Frankenweenie have started coming in and the general consensus is that he is back on form. What a relief. I was getting worried! Watching Les Miserables has reminded me that I'm almost due for a Burton filmography rewatch. He has directed some of the most haunting and beautiful films I have ever seen. It is a shame that he is so maligned these days.

As usual, opinions are welcomed flist!

Sometimes I wonder why I bother with Spooks?

( cultural sensitivity beats moral insensitivity )

Under cut link for anyone who hasn't seen yet for spoilers.

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Gah this sucks guys. My mouth is so swollen and sore from having my wisdom teeth out :( So therefore I will post this and then go watch more TV all day but in the meantime I want to blog for squint13 on the first two episodes of series three of A2A and blog about Law and Order UK episode "ID" starring Nicola Walker as a guest star for fragglebo.

Ashes to Ashes spoilers Under cut link.

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I don't watch Law and Order UK generally speaking but I watched episode 4.1 "ID" because Nicola was in it and it was well worth my time to see her guest role (though I think the show itself is pretty mediocre from what I've seen. Certainly no Foyle's War that's for sure.) I don't want to spoil this for those L&O/Nicola fans who haven't seen the episode so I'll have to be vague here.

I liked the morality question throughout this episode. The rights of the individual to privacy and the assumption of innocent until proven guilty versus the rights of people not to be murdered and have their murder go uninvestigated. I loved seeing Martha (I mean Freema) on my screen again and gee she is one beautiful lady, and I liked the older police woman and her acerbic wit. I also liked the guest actor playing the main suspect's lawyer (he was in 9.4 of Spooks as Beth's Chinese asset I believe) and the dodgy political cover up that was underway for most of the episode.

Nicola plays the main suspect's psychiatrist and though she isn't in the episode as much as she is in Spooks or Luther, it was another great performance from her. (By the way you should try watching TV with my Mum. "NICOLA WHAT ARE YOU DOING. NO. AHHH NICOLA WHY? WHY NICOLA? JUST TELL THE POLICE AND STOP BEING A NAUGHTY GIRL. NOOOO NICOLA NOOOOOO). Nicola also gets a pretty decent costume for once which is a pleasant change lol. Her end scenes are the best ones and there's one bit that made my hair stand on end. It's not quite as indescribable a performance as 1.4 of Luther, but it comes pretty close in some places. My heart was a little bit scarred yet again by the compelling honesty of Nicola's performance. Will this woman ever cease to amaze me?

I just finished reading Philip Pullman's new book 'The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundral Christ.' Now don't get me wrong. I love Philip Pullman. He is the brilliant writer who brought me both His Dark Materials and The Sally Lockhart quartet (two series that are in my top five of all time). But this book? I can't help but feel Pullman was being lazy.

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In other news: more fandom gender fail. Someone is trying to tell me that Ruth Evershed from Spooks is a Mary Sue because she is 'too smart and no one is that perfect.' Wow. I actually am really insulted by the stupidity of this statement. The implication of this statement being that 'real women' arn't smart and that intelligence in a woman is a negative trait.

ASIDE: This is actually insulting to everyone who happens to be smart, let alone women who happen to be smart. It reminds me of the whole bullying culture I experienced in Primary School because smart was associated with negativity and uncool. I mean REALLY. REALLY HAS THE WORLD DEGENERATED TO THE POINT WHERE INTELLIGENCE IS NOW A BAD THING?

Also, how the heck is Ruth a perfect character? Are we watching the same show? Ruth is only a perfect character if we measure perfection by a woman's intelligence. It's not like Ruth is young, glamorous, drop dead gorgeous and abounding in confidence or anything. It's not like the entire point of the complexity of the character of Ruth is her intelligence and analytical skills as offset by her extreme social skills fail. It's not like Ruth represents a whole group of women who fight shyness all the time and really freaking associate with her love life fail. Not at all.

Ironically, back when I was onto series five of Spooks I wrote this re Ruth: River and Alex are who I wish I'd be when I'm in my 30's, but Ruth is who I am, or at least who I'm heading towards. In fact, I would argue that Ruth is one of the most realistic female characters I have seen on TV ever. Guess I was way off about realistic women eh guys?

Rant under cut.

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I will probably blog properly about this later because it actually REALLY bothers me.

I realise I didn't review The Lodger but thats because I was in Melbourne meeting Tim Burton twice and shaking his hand and saying words to him and all, and meeting Brendanpodger and all. And then it was my brother's 18th and I'm going overseas on August 10th for 5 months (where's my panic button and all?) and yeah. The Lodger felt like a filler episode to me anyway. It was fluffy and funny is probably my overall opinion.

Now review (Spoilers...)

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Sorry guys, I was going to write a post on the link between fandom and creativity but Spooks happened. To be precise season five, episode five happened. The dreaded episode. The one that made my heart a blithering mess. The reason why I am now crying as I type this and listen to sad love songs.

Fuck you Spooks. Really, fuccccck you.

My flist will remember me posting this on the topic of the pain I experienced at Zoe leaving and how I put all of my love into Ruth/Harry instead.

So then I jumped onto the Ruth bandwagon... well I was already on the Ruth bandwagon but in a less of a "oh shit if Ruth leaves my heart will bleed" kind of stage that I had gotten to with Zoe. But then you know Ruth is just so cool and so like me if I were a Spook and her and Harry are so damn cute that before I knew it... yep... now if Ruth leaves my poor heart will break and my Mum will be walking around moaning 'Ruth, Zoe" at random intervals.

This is Spooks. It will happen. My heart will be broken again. I know this because somewhere along the line Nicola Walker who plays Ruth had a kid and left for a couple of seasons. There's only 8 seasons. I'm onto the 5th one. I live in fear.

Yeah well the above paragraph happened. It happened in the way that I dreaded. It happened in a similar way to Zoe, just to make sure that my sorrow would be just as great and take me another 2 seasons to get over.

It was some of the most excruciating television I've watched in my life and damn it they'd finally sorted out their relationship and then Ruth gets framed. Not only does she get framed, but she can't defend herself unless she lets Harry go down too. Wow. I hate you scriptwriters, I really, really do.

I'm not sure which was the most emotional part. The part where Ruth sits with Zaf and asks him to smile if he thinks he sees her and keep walking, the part where Jo walks in on Ruth andd Harry when they're looking into each others eyes, the part where Zaf asks Ruth if she knows that she's throwing her life away and does she even know why she's doing it, and Ruth says yes and nothing else and we all know its because of Harry, the part where Harry says he doesn't know what he's going to do without Ruth, the part where they kiss, the part where they say goodbye, or the final scene where Harry is staring after Ruth on the boat looking devestated and Ruth stares back and oh my God I'm crying again...

I missed alot of dialogue at the end of the episode because by that stage my glasses had misted up and I was crying uncontrollably. Even my Mum shed a tear. That never happens, except at the end of Big Fish when Burton makes that beautiful death analogy. Usually my Mum laughs at me because I'm very fussy about what films I watch and shows I admit to liking to, but when I like a show I get very emotional about it and cry alot.

I cried so much it wasn't funny. I had tears rolling down my cheeks. I still get depresed thinking about it.

My Mum true to form roamed around the house moaning "Zoeeee, Ruthhhh." She also made me feel even worse by pointing out that like Zoe, Ruth has to leave everything behind including her pets, money etc, except unlike Zoe, she doesn't even get the love of her life :( Well, thanks for that Mum, that just made me cry more.

I don't know how the hell I can keep watching series five without Ruth. She was the backbone of the show damn it!

So, for the love of Ruth, I post some sad YT videos to make me and everyone else more depressed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTkTs8mg_tQ&feature=related

God that one is tragic. I can never listen to Apologise on my ipod without thinking about Ruth and Harry :(

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjcCcia6taU&feature=related

This song is too much too!

Farewell Ruth Evershed. Words cannot express how much I loved you!

PS: Anyone know where they can point me in the direction of some decent Harry/Ruth fan mixes? Or how I send Nicola Walker fan mail for that matter?

Ok, so here's the thing. I never have understood people's love for 19th century fiction (other than the Russian novels, now that I can understand), but that didn't stop me from choosing to study 19th century literature for english extension rather than crime fiction. Why would I be foolish enough to do this? I'm a very practical person. One teacher teaching crime fiction hated my guts and persecuted me to the point that I switched out of his year 11 english class, the other was a class A idiot and I knew I would fail if I got her for crime fiction. On the other hand, sure I hated 19th century fiction, but at least the teachers teaching it were competant.

So I chose 19th century fiction. My teacher was lovely, my class was lovely but TRUTH... that didn't stop class from being pure unadulderated torture.

The worst part was the main module of study... the BBC's Pride and Prejudice. Now don't get me wrong. I love the BBC. But I go in for the weird timey wimey sci fi stuff or the dead bodies stuff or the spy stuff or the political thriller stuff, or you know just anything not 19th century fiction related stuff. So me watching all 6 hours of the BBC's Pride and Prejudice for a term and a half AT THE LEAST complete with continuous fast forwarding, rewinding, forwards, backwards, analysing, discussing, describing in minute detail made me hate the damn thing with a passion.

My main reaction to BBC period adaptations, but Jane Austen in particular is an involuntary shudder these days and a gut feeling of absolute loathing at the memory of watching that damn scene with Miss Bingley about eleventy billion times forwards, backwards, repeated, and analysed till I felt I would scream the school down. I mean there's only so many time I can admire the aristocratic way that Anna Chancellor managed to turn up her nose at Elizabeth Bennet with any modicum of interest.

So when Anna Chancellor appeared in Spooks as Juliet...



my instinctive reaction was to go into some weird time loop of hate and loathing at the memory of this woman...





I studied the scene where Miss Bingley tries to catch Elizabeth out at being uneducated by making her "take a turn about the room" in front of Mr Darcy so many God damned times that the very sight of Anne Chancellor fills me with hate and fear. Let me explain to you how much pain the memory of Miss Bingley/Anna Chancellor puts me through... with a SONG.

What is this feeling?
Fervid as a flame,
Does it have a name?
Yes! Loathing
Unadulterated loathing

GALINDA:
For your face;

ELPHABA:
Your voice;

GALINDA:
Your clothing;

BOTH:
Let's just say - I loathe it all
Ev'ry little trait, however small
Makes my very flesh begin to crawl
With simple utter loathing
There's a strange exhilaration
In such total detestation
It's so pure, so strong!
Though I do admit it came on fast
Still I do believe that it can last
And I will be loathing
Loathing you
My whole life long!

In fact the very sight of Anna Chancellor sends my brain into a weird mix of hate and despair and essay writing so that every time she comes on screen as Juliet in Spooks my brain tells me forcefully and authoritively, "Social status is portrayed in the BBC's Pride and Prejudice in the costuming of the different characters. Miss Bingley wears colourful silks and exotic feathers to indicate her high class and social status, whilst the Bennet sisters wear simple dresses and jewlery to highlight their gentry class status." and then my brain goes into double overload telling me insistently that I should write next about Miss Bingley's insistance that Elizabeth take a turn about the room, and how I should discuss her disproval for Elizabeth in a framework of social acceptance and norms of the time.

In fact, if I ever met Anna Chancellor, I'd have some words with her I would (once I got past the involuntary linked reaction of ahhh I loathe you, followed by "Social status is portrayed in the BBC's..."). I am fairly sure that her portrayal of Miss Bingley has scarred me for life. At least Colin Firth doesn't send my brain into essay overdrive, at least Jennifer Ehle never really did anything ever again after P&P. Damn you Anna Chanceller. Damn you.

Of course, it doesn't help that Anna Chancellor is typecast as the upper class British snob in everything she is ever in ever...

Agent Cody Banks 2: snob.
What a girl wants: snob.
Four wedding and a funeral. snob.
Spooks. snob.

STOP MAKING ME RELIVE THE HSC DAMN IT!!! Congratulations. You, my dear Anna Chancellor, have perfected the art of long distance torture.

Yep. Gee thanks Miss Bingley, Jane Austen, Anna Chancellor and the idiot HSC board. You have all conspired to give me post traumatic english extension, Jane Austen disorder.

Though perhaps I have taken the first step in fixing my Austen, Miss Bingley fear related, traumatised state... after all I didn't know Anna Chancellor from Adam till I set about writing this entry. She was simply THE WOMAN or even more often AHHHH ITS HER... HER... THAT ONE... AHHHHHHHH or even more often just "it's... it's... Miss... Bing... ley?????"

At least she has a name now :P

ps for Holly: be thankful you got to study Richard Armitage be hot in North and South. I'm sure he doesn't send your mind into spirals of hate and fear and remembrance of frantic essay writing conditions.

I've written 1000 words of my 2000 word essay! Yay? That means I can post here :)

So I realise I haven't blogged at all for Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone or Vampires in Venice... so I'm going to do it now... all at once.

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Well that's me done for the moment. Any theories on how this is all going to end?