Film Review - The Colony (2016)

The Bling Ring DVD Review

Rating:
15
Release:
28th October 2013 (UK)
Distributor:
Studiocanal UK
Director:
Sofia Coppola
Stars:
Emma Watson, Katie Chang ,Leslie Mann, Israel Broussard,
Buy The Bling Ring:[DVD] or [Blu-ray]
The Bling Ring is very sadly Sofia Coppola’s latest film. She seems to have got to the point her dad is in making absolutely dreadful films cause the money people want to make a film by a Coppola. Both generations of Coppola struck gold early on in their career but after a gold period of about a decade (longer in her father’s case) they stop making those great films.

The Bling Ring is based on a true series of crimes committed by celebrity-obsessed teenagers in L.A during 2008 and 2009. These vacuous spoiled little brats robbed other spoiled brats like Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan etc. They do this by stalking their every move on facebook. The clan of vermin end up stealing more than $3,000,000 worth of kit off these equally horrible human beings and come on who really cares?

Sofia clearly thinks she is making a satire on Celebrity culture but in falls flat in almost every instance. Some noted film critics quite liked and it has some about the 60% mark on rottentomatoes.com and who knows why. Every character is a unlikable Hollywood kid who spends too much time on facebook posting selfies who eventually decide stealing some coke snorting whores who pretend then can “act”’ stuff is a good idea. To be fair to Lindsay she was quite good in that Robert Altman film but that was what nearly a decade ago and she has done enough coke and botox to ruin her career.

Emma Watson plays like the ringleader of the coke fuelled teenage gang who does these robberies and is dreadful as is the rest of the cast. Her character is a home schooled (a wonderful American concept) by an equally air headed liberal new age mad women who should have had a forced a Tubal Ligation so her spawn wouldn’t inflict herself on the world. She is joined by her equally self absorbed gay friend who is just obnoxious from the get go who gets involved in coke and stealing shit like the rest of them.

The film is very sadly the last film shot by Harris Savides who shot one of the greatest films of the noughties Zodiac. He also worked with Fincher on The Game and Se7en, Gus Van Sant, Scorsese, Ridley Scott Woody Allen and Sofia Coppola before on Somewhere. He probably got the brain cancer he died from this due to the brain-dead nature of the film’s material. It’s a real shame cause he was a damn fine cinematographer.

It’s a massive failure by the golden girl of American cinema of the noughties, shame her career had to lead to this. Sofia please go to a cabinet and don’t come back till you something that isn’t this vapid on us. Everybody involved should repent, I want my money back and I got the dvd for free.

★☆☆☆☆

Ian Schultz

EIFF 2013 - The Bling Ring Review

Rating: 15
Release: 22nd June 2013 (EIFF) 5th July 2013 (UK Cinema)
Stars: Emma Watson, Katie Chang ,Leslie Mann, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang
Director: Sofia Coppola

The Bling Ring marks Sofia Coppola's first feature since 2010's outstanding Somewhere and faces the challenge of living up to the quality of this and her previous body of work. Whilst The Bling Ring is an enjoyable watch, it ultimately feels as superficial and shallow as its central characters.

Based on real events, The Bling Ring documents a group of teens who break into the homes of some of America's biggest celebrities.

Coppola's narrative presents us with teens burglarising the homes of Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Orlando Bloom simply because they can.  This is handled with a lack of insight or depth which can result in The Bling Ring becoming quite a frustrating watch - it is not clear whether Coppola is making a statement about obsession with celebrity or the lack of direction faced by young people. You could make a case for both (and more) arguments, yet Coppola does not commit to either - she simply portrays these teens committing the crimes through a skewed sense of self-entitlement. Whilst this is always continually watchable thanks to Coppola's distinct aesthetic style, it seems like somewhat of a wasted opportunity that she does not dig below surface depth.

Despite this frustration, there is much to enjoy about The Bling Ring. Coppola's dialogue provides an often amusing look at our celebrity obsessed culture - best presented when Katie Chang's Rebecca's main concern about her crimes was Lindsay Lohan's reaction, or when Emma Watson's Nicki discusses her ambition to lead a country. Leslie Mann's appearance as Nicki's mother also furthers the idea of the cult of celebrity through references to a lifestyle ideal known as The Secret.

There may be little to the characters of The Bling Ring other than their vacuous Californian lifestyle and superficial style and beliefs, yet there are still some solid performances within the feature. Katie Change excels as Rebecca, the careless teen who initiates the first break-ins, whilst Israel Broussard is solid as the more cautious best-friend.  However, it is Emma Watson who makes The Bling Ring - the actress is magnificent as the spoilt LA teen who happens to be the most superficially charismatic of the group.

Coppola's aesthetic is perhaps one of the most redeeming elements of The Bling Ring from the sun-stroked Californian streets to the pulsating nightlife, set to an eclectic soundtrack of contemporary pop and R&B music.

There is a lot to like about The Bling Ring from its clever dialogue, excellent performances and Coppola's distinct glossy aesthetic, but it ultimately feels like an unfulfilling watch with a narrative lacking the depth that it needs.

★★★☆☆

Andrew McArthur

Emma Watson Goes Full Bad Girl In Trailer For Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring

You want the fame, lifestyle of the rich and famous but cant afford it? Envy in what they've got? You just need to steal it like Emma Watson does in The Bling Ring, watch the new trailer!

Based on the 'true story' The Bling Ring follows a group of Los Angeles based teens who robbed from the rich and famous between 2008 until 2009. They track their "victims" via social media before stealing their loot from Paris Hilton to Orlando Bloom.

The Bling Ring really enhances the extreme levels of obsession some people especially teenagers go to these days. Its an culture that's controlling a lot of people's lives, ruining them too giving nobodies 15 minutes of fame before they disappear off the face of the earth. Sofia Coppola captures the anxiety, but if your thinking Spring Breakers with style The Bling Ring looks a lot more sophisticated,satirical,than anything L'Enfant terrible could ever do in a heartbeat.

Your mind sort of wonders if Sofia Coppola will glamorize crime with The Bling Ring however if your a fan of the filmmaker's work you'll know this film will be more than celebrity obsession and teenage angst. The Bling Ring co-stars Leslie Mann, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Georgia Rock, and Gavin Rossdale. The film will arrive in UK& Ireland 5th July (USA 14th June).



source: Yahoo!

Let's Go Shopping, Watch Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring Teaser Trailer

The world is getting smaller and the price of fame is your followed in every media outlet available printed, online. Fans are obsessed and in Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring they take that Obsession one step further, watch the first teaser trailer.

In The Bling Ring Emma Watson leads a group of fame obsessed teens who stalk out local celebrities in order to rob from them in a film thats based on actual events. 2013 seems to have a running theme of  teens cause trouble with Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers arriving next month in UK. The Bling Ring does look slightly more sophisticated than Korine's effort which seems to go for style over substance, however Coppola does rubber stamp her own style on the film though at the same this is slightly off-kilter for her.It;s nice to Emma Watson chosing her steps wisely post Harry Potter taking the independent film route rather jumping into mainstream big blockbusters which should help loose Hermoine Grainger label with great ease.

The Bling Ring co-stars Leslie Mann, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien, Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Georgia Rock, and Gavin Rossdale. The film doesn't have a UK&Irish release date but Stateside you can catch the film on limited release 14th June.


source:BeyondHollywood (via Thepeoplesmovies)