How To Train Your Dragon 2

I may or may not have admitted this before but I am a huge fan of kids' films. Mainly because in this day and age, kids' films are no longer just for little kids. They're for big kids as well or adults as they are more commonly known, who enjoy the wonder and grandeur that only animated or CGI-heavy films seem to be able to replicate these days.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 is no exception. The sequel to the epic 2010 feature starring Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, and Craig Ferguson directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, has all the action, adventure, and slimy dragon spit one can imagine with many brilliant sub plots intertwined to keep both young and old interested throughout the relatively reasonable 102 minute feature.

In HTTYD2 (as Twitter likes to call it), Hiccup has developed into a more mature, knowledgeable and wise man (with the same boyish frame and broken voice). Him and his best friend Toothless, the unbelievably cute Night-Fury dragon, prefer scouring the extended lands around their hometown Berk to entering Dragon races, or fulfilling his destiny as Chief of Berk (great title). When Hiccup accidentally stumbles upon a new land complete with dragon trappers and foreign trades, he learns of a fate far worse than dragons - Drago Bludvist. A crazy and deranged individual who has learnt "how to train his dragons" to attack on command - cute! Its at this point the film takes us to a whole new level and as I say with all sequels - if you're gonna make it better, you've gotta make it bigger. In this case, Dreamworks did just that - in the form of their insanely, awesome, humongous Bewilderbeasts (aka. biggest motherf***ers known to dragon kind) and in the form of a much bigger surprise - the reveal of the Dragon Master. The Dragon Master is a character to precious to unveil to you now if you haven't yet seen the film but I will say this - you'll be so happy to finally see Hiccup fit in for a change rather than being on the outside. The film's conclusion comes in the form of a mighty battle between Drago and his army of dragons and Hiccup and his tribe, the only weak point to the film which ironically relies just as much on the dragons to further the plot as the characters in the story rely on them. Without the dragons' characterization, we suddenly lose that element of connectivity that the filmmakers have maintained throughout the whole film and its a little unnerving. Regardless, you'll still be on the edge of your seat right till the very end.

I can't get over how many boxes this film ticks for me. Drama= tick. Action = tick. Tear-jerking scenes = tick tick. Comedy = tick tick tick!! You'll love to you cry and cry till you laugh - that is the beauty of DeBlois' writing. Not only that but the film encourages us to become a part of this world without the need for ridiculously clunky 3D glasses. The scenery, lighting, and attention to detail are so intricate you would think you were looking into this world through a window, not a crappy projector screen. To top it off, I really appreciate a kids' film that has an awesome moral story behind it without being sappy. In HTTYD2's case, we must learn that no matter how small we may be, we are mightier in spirit and with our courage, and our dragons, we can conquer anything.

Its going to be great to see how HTTYD3 turns out.

MAKING FILMS AND BABIES - How our female film and TV professionals are juggling two of life’s greatest milestones.

A recent WA Women In Film and TV (WIFT)/ Film and Television Institute (FTI) seminar sparked a number of important discussions, mainly the representation of women in the film and television industry and the causes behind the dire statistics. As a background, here are just a few of the important stats you need to be aware of as a female (and male) film and television professional:

• Only four women have ever been nominated for Best Director: Lina Wertmüller for Seven Beauties (1976), Jane Campion for The Piano (1993), Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation (2003), and Kathryn Bigelowfor The Hurt Locker (2009). Bigelow was the first, and to date the only, female director to win the Academy Award for Best Director.
• 16% of the behind-the-scenes roles (such as directing, producing, writing, editing, cinematography, etc.) for 2013’s Top 250 Films were held by female practitioners.
• A historical comparison of women’s employment on the top 250 films in 2013 and 1998 reveals that the percentages of women directors, writers, executive producers, editors, and cinematographers have declined.
• Women comprised 6% of all directors working on the top 250 films of 2013.

The statistics raise an important question: why? What are the compounding factors on our female filmmakers and why are they impacting their influence within the industry? The answer lies in the one activity that only women are capable of doing: making babies.

We all know the story of the birds and the bees and how babies are made and it is definitely not the right time and place to discuss this process here. Neither is it to comment on current political correctness when it comes to RAISING a child (that is not the point in question). Taking 9 months out of your year to produce a gorgeous, beautiful, specimen to be enjoyed by the world for the rest of its life is a full-time, energy-sapping, mind-blowing experience. As is making a film.

To do both at the same time is just not easy. According to Director Beeban Kidron (Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason) “motherhood has affected her ­career ‘more than gender” and that “the question of who brings up the kids has a material ­effect on all women's careers." Angelina Jolie was famously photographed in December last year juggling her directing on Unbroken whilst taking care of her 6 children whilst Brad Pitt was overseas filming another feature. Assistants and nannies aside, any mother knows how difficult it is to manage the demands of your children with the demands of a filmset.

Luckily, the tides are changing and support for female directors who want to make a family, are in the middle of the process, or have succeeded in doing so, is becoming stronger. Sue Taylor commented on the production of her feature film, The Tree, in 2010 on which a crèche was set up not just for the children in the film, but also for the children of her director and other members of the crew, allowing them to spend time with their children whilst at work. This kind of support is incredibly rewarding for female filmmakers and its hoped that in the future, Hollywood and other large film industries will start to acknowledge the benefits of supporting are great film and baby makers with the necessary resources. 

Sherlock Season 3

I've had an interesting relationship with Benedict Cumberbatch over the years. No, we have never met, but one we would presume based on my highly vocalised opinions of the poor guy, that we had once had a fruitless fancy in love that did not end well. My comments about his "arrogance", "weasly-nature" and "larger-than-normal head" are just a few to mention from my tirades. Which is why it is ironic that his performance in Sherlock has managed to sway my judgements of an actor and actually like him for a change.

For those of you who don't know, this BBC modernization of the Conan Doyle series features England's most prolific fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and his wise side-kick, Dr John Watson, as they galavant around 21st century London solving mysteries. I was not a fan of the series in its inception simply because I was not a fan of Mr Cumberbatch himself. But when my boyfriend made me sit through an entire 90 minute episode during Season 2, I was suddenly hooked.

Sherlock features not only one of the greatest fictional characters ever created in English history but also the finest production value of any TV series I have seen the past 10 years. The BBC have pulled no stops in presenting their audience with exquisite (near perfect) special effects coupled with a cinematographic style that supremely exceeds anything you'd find amongst Downton Abbey. London's wet, cold, cobbled streets are suddenly refreshing even to the local govn'r and the audience becomes at one with this amazing setting, a character in itself.

Season 3 set outs to outshine its preceding seasons with more action, more drama, and more personal life at risk. We follow on from Season 2 two years after Sherlock Holmes supposedly jumped to his death following an unfortunate incident with his nemesis, Moriarty. Holmes must return to Baker St to win back his family and right the wrongs done whilst he has been MIA under the shadow of a potential terrorist attack on London City. It makes for an exciting, suspenseful series that is bound to not only suffice the strong-willed Sherlock fan, but attract an audience of watchers searching for a new breed of television. Three 90-minute episodes make viewing more of a blockbuster event than a veg-out session and are guaranteed to make people talk about it on Twitter or Facebook later that night. It may, like me, also convince a few Cumberbatch-critics to lighten their tone for an hour and a half as well.