Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

Running Time: 127 mins
Directed By: Tomas Alfredson
Starring: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy, Benedict Cumberbatch, John Hurt, Ciaran Hinds, Kathy Burke
Screenplay: Peter Straughan, Bridget O'Connor
UK Release Date: UK - 16th September

Quick Plot: Set in the height of the cold war aka. 1970 London, semi-retired MI6 agent George Smiley is recalled back to find a double agent working for Soviets.

Review: For critics, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy has been one of the most anticipated films of the year and that's no surprise looking at the absolute extraordinary cast and the fact the novel by John le Carré and the mini series in 1979. It's also no surprise the film is very good which is mostly down to the cast.
Gary Oldman is possibly the main reason Tinker Tailor Solider Spy has been receiving such incredible reviews and a lot of talk. His take on our central character George Smiley is exquisite and I wouldn't be surprised if it wins him an Oscar nomination in the least; he deserves it. The film starts off with a tense and great cold open scene indicating the greater plot and then follows Smiley into his life after going into early retirement. With exception of the soundtrack and sounds of the scenes, it's silent and you're following George Smiley into his life and wondering what is going to happen. After the film quickens it's hard to find times of the film to really sympathise with George but on a whole, with him being our main character, you're on his side throughout. Oldman is undoubtly the standout performance but in my opinion, Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hardy's roles were closely followed. They have different jobs within their roles but altogether contribute to the fine work of acting talent in the entire film.

Cumberbatch, who is really making his mark in film and TV recently, shines throughout the film. One key scene and a favourite of mine, which I had the luck of seeing a month ago at big screen, was still as tense and remarkable on my first viewing. Being younger than the more experience actors in the film, Cumberbatch's acting comes off on the others making his role more important than it seems. With a few more emotional scenes than you expect, Cumberbatch really did a fantastic job. Hardy never seems to fail to show that he has a wide range of proficiency's within his work. Again a younger character among the rest of the cast, but with still as much importance with them all. My other favourite scenes involved him and his flashbacks in telling the important stories. King Colin Firth, John Hurt and Mark Strong are just as great as all of their other works and their parts do not at all go by unnoticed, but on a personal note, Hardy, Cumberbatch and Oldman stole the show. A worthy mention is Kathy Burke in a key scene, having a few laughs which is natural for her but is must be mentioned as she is wonderful.
From the moment Tinker Tailor Solider Spy begins, you're constantly being thrilled by the beautifully exciting suspense we are put through! With some very clever shots of the bottom of people's bodies and not clear picture of Smiley's wife and another key character's face, as part of the audience you're singling out characters by just the way they're represented. Everything is a mystery until the end, so Tomas Alfredson has very cleverly mastered the cinematography, creating a constant cold feel adding your own suspicion to the the characters individually.

The film is undoubtedly long and for some it can seem tedious. I don't agree that Tinker Tailor Solider Spy is purely a 'critics' film because the cast and story does appeal to many different types of audiences. But it's not for everyone because of the length. If it was a simple hour and a half long thriller more people would like it but it'd be basic. Because of the duration it allows for the film to involve a list of greatly developed characters, a long interesting mystery story and it keeps you thinking. Saying that, the film's greatness is solely down to the accomplished cast. Being great in all of their previous work alone, together they seem to bounce off one another making each other greater unknowingly.

Tinker Tailor Solider Spy is showcasing the fine acting talents Britain have to offer. It's not a thriller glamorising in guns, girls and excessive amount of murders, but you're on edge all the time. Long but worth it.

4.5/5

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy official trailer

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Orange Rising Star Nominations for BAFTA Award 2011

Hi blog. This isn't a review of a film, just a post about something to do with film. I apologise, but as I haven't been to the cinema since 127 Hours all I've done is revision for upcoming exams so I thought I would take a break to write about The Orange Rising Star award for the BAFTA's this year.

Orange Rising Star Nominations for BAFTA Award 2011

Last year, my vote for Jesse Eisenberg didn't make it and Kristen Stewart won instead. Which is perfectly fine she's a good actress (if she won it for Adventureland, but no she wont it for Twilight instead) it's cool..I'm over it..no honestly I am she kind of deserved it. But I'm more excirted for this year because the nominations are Actors which I've seen lots of their work.

To my delight all 5 nominee's are Actors who I adore, I either fancy them like mad or I've enjoyed their performances over the last few years too.
For anyone who knows me personally or knows me a little bit online knows I have an extreme fondness of Andrew Garfield and Gemma Arterton. Both are two of my favourites Actors and I adore their films they've starred in. My admiration of Aaron Johnson, Emma Stone and Tom Hardy is still pretty strong but I had compare it to Andy and Gem- so I had to let them go.

Now it's taken many hours to get my head together and decide on who to vote for one and after much debate which myself I've finally voted.
My vote might not be that important, but for me it's a peace of mind knowing who I would like to win. I guess I could have used two mobile numbers and voted for each one, but that would have cancelled out each vote and there would be no point.
I wanted to take this time on my blog to mention the greatness of both Andrew Garfield and Gemma Arterton and write about why I adore them both so much.

Andrew Garfield

Andrew first caught my eye in  The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009) and unfortunately it being quite awful, he was one of the only good things about it. I thought he was the cute British boy in in it and I was angry at Lily Cole for not fancying him because I thought he was completely gorgeous. He was confirmed to play Spider Man in the reboot about a 1/4 of the way through 2010 and I was over the moon because I had heard lots of positive feedback that he was a good Actor and remembered him from Dr Parnassus. Then I saw him in The Social Network, Sugar Rush (TV) and a short film called I'm Here in 2010. The Social Network was in my top 5 favourites of 2010 because of it's brilliance, some of which was all down to Andrew.

Andrew as Eduardo in The Social Network (2010)

He stars in Never Let Me Go due for release in a few weeks in the UK, which I'm excited for mostly because I'm reading the book and am thoroughly enjoying it. Andrew Garfield is also a complete gentleman, he's super talented- he's proved he can play many roles already. He's too exceptionally gorgeous. He's been nominated for many other awards already from his previous performances, most of which are his role of Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network and Tommy in Never Let Me Go.

Gemma Arterton

Gemma Arteron as Tamara Drewe

Gemma Arterton is one of my top ladies ever. She's one of my role models and she's an inspiration to me. She's starred in Prince Of Persia, St. Trinians, Clash Of The Titans, The Disappearance of Alice Creed, Tamara Drewe and I'm sure she's going to have a great future. Even though Clash Of The Titans was a complete let down, a disaster of a film, Gemma made it worthwhile and I thought she played her character of Io very well. Though it's been brought up she plays lots of similar roles from Clash Of The Titans and Prince Of Persia- Tamara Drewe and The Disappearance Of Alice Creed prove that theory wrong- though I have yet to see both of them, I've heard good reviews from many people and have faith in their review.

It was such a  tough choice in voting for this-you wouldn't believe.
Especially if you know me well, you would know the effect it has had on me picking out of two of my favourite people in the whole entire world. But I've voted now and I hope either one of them wins to be totally honest.

Emma Stone, Tom Hardy and Aaron Johnson

But I should mention, Aaron Johnson, Emma Stone and Tom Hardy have had a good year too. If you haven't seen any of the films I've listed above, at least watch one of these: Kick Ass or Nowhere Boy (starring Johnson), Easy A or Zombieland (starring Stone), or Inception and Bronson (starring Tom Hardy)

When the winner is announced, if I'm not busy during that week, I'll do a post about the result which should be short.

Hope everyone is well and having a nice week! :D

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