Film Reviews · New Film Reviews

Classic Film Review: The Terminator [1984]

terminatorThe Terminator is one of the most intelligent and emotionally complex films of its kind and reductive pop culture snobbery has no place minimising its allegorical humanism. So there!

In 1984, a Cyborg has been sent from the future on a deadly mission. It has been programmed to kill a young woman named Sarah Connor! Sarah’s life will have a staggering effect on the fate of mankind for she will be the mother of the greatest resistance leader the world has ever seen! He will stop the machines when they rise up against mankind! And that future machine sent to the past is called… The Terminator!

Slash: Arnold Schwarzenegger. Because, let’s be honest, they have become one and the same in your mind. The film would be nothing without Schwarzenegger’s performance. That perfect body and creepily monotone, off-base voice suggest a slightly imperfect interpretation of a model human being. But The Terminator is a killer cyborg with a metal robo-skeleton encased in human flesh.

Although it spawned a string of pointless, inferior sequels, the first Terminator is clearly James Cameron’s best film. With it he can stand up to Spielberg and Carpenter. The film has verve and blistering excitement with such storytelling firepower that plot holes are barely noticeable…

Sort of.

At its core, The Terminator is a meditation on mankind’s thirst for progress and the likely fallout that results from a lack of self-regulation, extinction being the ultimate punishment for the sin of creation without moral consideration. This all sounds a little too metaphorically frank and cerebral for an action film but its tech noir trappings lend a pulpy intensity. Also. Explosions.

Those concentrated visceral bursts are not unlike punctuation marks among something altogether more brooding. Particularly in the first half hour, which has rather a lot of ground laying before the first clash. Although it then returns to visions of the post-apocalypse- in which aerial Hunter/Killers and tanks the size of buildings scout for humans amid the skull-infested, burned-out wasteland- the film leaves things relatively unexplained.

I for one am a fan of a film that makes the audience work for the answers, especially if there is a lot of action involved! Rubber shrieks and bullets fly as the only breathers are those enjoyed by the protagonists, which, given the Terminator’s unending persistence and chameleonesque ability to disguise itself are few and far between.

Although this is Cameron’s best film (and it’s no coincidence this is also his only to clock in at under two hours) it is also plainly from a very inexperienced director who is working with a not particularly large budget. But I find that works in his favour. His relative weaknesses and the cost-cutting technical ones provide an authentic layer to the grunge of the piece.

Dialogue that can only be described as ‘On-the-nose’ suggests real people losing it amid unimaginable stress. The dated effects, such as Arnold’s rubber head, effectively reinforce the non-humanness of his character.

The Terminator is, unexpectedly, one of the most hopeful films ever made. And it is one we can take much from. The final shot of Sarah Connor is one of acceptance of profound responsibility. The film argues that every life is meaningful and important to the final equation. On the eve of self-destruction, mankind is still worth saving.

Fashion · Fashion Reviews · Jessica Loves

March Favourites “Lady K Loves”: Limited Edition Vintage Clothing

I have made a discovery that has become my favourite shop this month:  Lady K Loves (such a cute name) and wow! For a while, I have been looking for a really good circle skirt and boy did they deliver. It’s everything I’ve always wanted in a circle skirt! Check it out:

I cannot stress enough how good this makes me look, (that’s so conceited…) but it genuinely does. This is the Darling skirt in Coral colour.

Let’s move on to the Lydia Patio shirt also in Coral. It has some beautiful sparkles and buttons and they come in a range of colours and styles. It is really fabulous and good quality. The one drawback is the lined pattern on the sides that has a stiffer decoration sewn into the seams, making it super scratchy on the top because the sparkle comes from the bits of metal and they go into your shoulders. Absolutely love the shape, style and the pattern (even with the scratchyness).

But omg that skirt, i cannot stress how beautiful it is!

Lady K Loves

Some cool things about the brand: everything they do is limited edition vintage style with a modern fit.They are made in England, more specifically made in Bristol. Double yay because I was brought up in Bristol and I got married there. Awesome!

Everything is either done in the special denim factory, or their fair trade factory in India. So you can feel very safe in the knowledge that your clothes are ethically produced.

Other cool thing: each style has one fabric allocated, meaning that they don’t do loads of items. So if you love something jump in there and get it. Its’ beautiful and fabulous. I adore the circle skirts, I think I will be getting one in every colour!

They also sent me other cool stuff, like this sunglasses:

Lady K Loves

I think those are the coolest sunglasses I have ever owned and they make me feel very trendy (and I’m not). Secondly, they also sent me this beautiful little brooch of a Pegasus:

Lady K Loves

I should say that I know someone who is in need of a Pegasus at this moment cause it’s having a bit of a hard time, so this will be coming to you very soon. I know you watch my videos, so now you know!

What else has been my favourite this month? Watch the video down bellow and find out!

Classical Film Reviews · Film Reviews

Classical Film Review: The Women [1939]

WomenNineteen Thirty Nine’s The Women, based on a play of the same name, had to be adapted for the screen to make it acceptable for the Production Code and, although uncredited, F.Scott Fitzgerald contributed to the writing of the screenplay.

The film also contains some of the most entertaining verbal duels ever depicted onscreen, between such acting greats as Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Mary Boland, Joan Fontaine, and Paulette Goddard. AND it is one of the most well-loved comedies of all time, due in no small part to the unique relationships the characters have with each other, and the complex web of competition that occurs between every character… with every other character.

That’s a lot of fighting. A lot of very funny fighting.

Far and away the most vitally important part of the picture is that of the over 130 roles in this film… every single one is played by a woman. Every animal in the film is female and every piece of artwork in the background is representative of the female form. Men might be spoken to over the phone or send a letter to a character but they have no voice.

How wonderfully ‘Girl Power’.

Oh, no, except… the women in the film talk so much about their husbands, it may take a while for the viewer to notice that men are actually missing.

The Bechdel test was devised in Nineteen Eighty Five and had a momentous impact on helping viewers become aware of the dearth of female authentic female relationships on screen. In order to pass the Bechdel test, a film must have (1) at least two named women who (2) have a conversation with each other (3) about something other than a man.

It’s surprisingly hard to find films that fit the criteria. It points out that not only are individual women not accurately represented but the way women interact with each other as friends, mothers, daughters, sisters, lovers is more than just ignored. As we see in this film, their relationships sour and become gratuitously nasty when hinged around men. These women will destroy each others’ lives if their romance with ‘their man’ is threatened.

Pray, don’t mistake me, The Women is still fabulous. The performances are terrific, it’s wonderfully funny… despite being filmed in black and white there is a ten minute fashion parade filmed in Technicolor, featuring costume designer Adrian’s most extraordinary designs- and they are remarkable, truly!

Just be aware that, although The Women is a completely feminine picture, and very progressive in its handling of both divorce and extramarital affairs, it was still very much a picture made under the Hays Code of extreme censorship. I shalln’t ruin the ending for you but, well, no problem is unresolved…

That’s part of the fun though, isn’t it? The network of duels in this film is tightly woven, and the plot comes together through exploration of who is dueling with whom!

Director George Cukor is magnificent in channeling all these feuds into fun, creative scenes. Though there are some serious disputes in the film, the sharpness of the script and slapstick humour keeps the film from getting too mean.