Filmspot

Posted: 13 Feb 2012 05:07 PM PST

So, here we go, Valentine’s Day – the day for half the population to go all lovey-dovey and the other half to huff about the former half and their lovey-dovey-ness.

Team Filmspot like any excuse to put together lists of films, though, so beware you cynics – here comes some of the Filmspot team’s favourite romantic films. We usually try to limit ourselves to 5 films, but we’ve come to realise that we’re hopeless romantics here in the Filmspot office, so please humour us!

In the Mood for Love (2000)

Bryan Ferry aside, Wong Kar Wai’s In the Mood for Love is an utterly spellbinding romantic melodrama. Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung play neighbours who both suspect their spouses are having an affair, only to find themselves infatuated with each other. It is gently paced, dreamy and enigmatic. Christopher Doyle’s cinematography gives a beautifully nostalgic atmosphere, which complements its 1960s setting. Cheung exudes Hepburn-eque elegance – which alone is surely reason enough to watch it!

Gregory’s Girl (1981)

America has a great many films about love-lorn teenagers, but none of them can quite come up to John Gordon Sinclair‘s gawkish Gregory. Bill Forsyth’s very funny romantic comedy, set in a Scottish comprehensive school, is refreshing in that the teenagers aren’t angst-ridden or brooding – they all seem to be pretty nice, well adjusted (although somewhat quirky) kids. Gregory has an incredibly appealing, upbeat approach to life – a nice antidote to the current popular view of teenagers!

A Matter of Life & Death (1946)

One of Powell & Pressburger’s many masterpieces, A Matter of Life & Death is not only one of the great romantic films, but one of the most vivid screen fantasies. David Niven and Kim Hunter’s first scene together (above) is utterly heartbreaking. Niven plays Squadron Leader Peter Carter, who should have died when his Lancaster Bomber went down after a mission in 1945, but his ‘guide’ to the ‘other world’ (Marius Goring) cannot find him because of thick fog. Before his ‘guide’ catches up with him, Carter meets and falls in love with June (Hunter), and has to battle with ‘the powers that be’ to remain on earth with her. Unlikely though it sounds, this is a film that manages to reach its own ambitions!

Chico & Rita (2010)

This animated film, directed by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal, is a vibrant slice of sunshine, music and romance. Set in the 1940s and 50s, it follows the fate of two promising musicians, Chico, a pianist, and Rita, a singer. The stylish animation and beautiful music make up for the fact that this is a plot line you will have seen before – and by the last scene, there won’t be a dry eye in the house!

Bringing up Baby (1938)

Howard Hawk’s hilarious comedy starring Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn is pure cinematic genius. If you don’t fall for the nervous, bookish museum paleontologist Dr Huxley (Grant) or the irritating and eccentric heiress Susan Vance (Hepburn), you surely have a heart of stone! It’s difficult to believe that it received poor reviews on its release, but Bringing up Baby has certainly stood the test of time, and is now justly seen as one of the great screwball classics.

Brief Encounter (1945)

Surely any list of romantic films worth its mettle must include David Lean’s masterpiece? Timeless in theme, but very much of its time, Brief Encounter is an essentially British love story. Everything about this film is pitch-perfect: it will leave even the least emotional amongst us struggling with ‘itchy eyes’.

NB – apologies to those of you waiting to hear of our upcoming Filmspot events. We promised you an update in this blog post, but sadly we are still awaiting confirmation of a couple of dates! We can let you know that there are a number of events planned for the coming months – with our first Filmspot of the year planned for April. More news is forthcoming!

Filmspot

What we’re looking forward to!

Posted: 05 Feb 2012 04:25 PM PST

Well, it’s exciting times for Filmspot at the moment. We’re putting the finishing touches to our 2012 events programme and will be announcing lots of upcoming events in our next blog, so watch this space.

In the meantime, though – we promised our most anticipated films for 2012, so…

The Muppets

After our Muppet-fest in Eastbourne in December, you’d think we would have had our fill of Muppets, but of course the fact is: you can never have your fill of Muppets! The new film has already taken America by a storm – and I’m sure the wait will be worth it when the film is finally released over here next week. It’s time to start the music…

Moonrise Kingdom

We’re big Wes Anderson fans here at Filmspot, so a new Anderson film is always good news – and from the trailer this looks like no exception. how could it possibly go wrong, from the Francois Hardy music, most of Anderson’s usual collaborators (although there is the notable absence of any members from the Wilson family), Ed Norton as a scout leader (an excellent piece of casting!) and bird costumes! Fabulous stuff.

The Woman in Black

The 1989 TV adaptation of Susan Hill’s classic ghost story is one of our Hallowe’en favourites, and I would be tempted to suggest that a remake isn’t really necessary, but this looks like it has been rather intelligently done. It’s the latest title to be released by the re-vamped Hammer Productions, and this has the potential to be a match made in heaven (if you’ll excuse the turn of phrase..). There are certainly a couple of spine tingling moments in the trailer alone. It’s always a pleasure to have a good old fashioned ghost story back in the cinema – a nice antidote to The Human Centipede and other such ghastly creations….

La Fee (The Fairy)

Last year, one of the Filmspot team’s most charming discoveries was Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon’s ‘Rumba’ – a delightful mixture of dance, (near) silent comedy and whimsy. This looks set to continue in a similar vein – with Tati-esque slapstick and endearing set pieces. It has had a couple of festival screenings over here – and we’re hoping it’ll get a more general release date for the UK soon!

The Pirates: In an Adventure with Scientists

Hot on the heals of ‘Arthur Christmas’, Aardman are back in familiar stop-motion territory with The Pirates. Looking at the trailer, it seems they haven’t skimped on detail (we are particularly impressed by the Blue Peter badge making an appearance on one of the pirate’s hats!).

I’m sure there are plenty of others to look out for – what are your most anticipated films of 2012?

Check back on this blog soon for some important announcements for our upcoming season of events.