The ALLNIGHTER [Autumn 2012]

RUNNING ORDER

1. Ted (106 mins)

John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) was a lonely child who wished for his teddy bear to come to life and be his best friend forever. Miraculously, his wish came true, but 27 years later living with a stuffed animal turned vulgar, obscene and crude begins to have its drawbacks when John’s long-term girlfriend Lori (Mila Kunis) hopes to further their relationship. Ted himself is charismatically brought to life by none other than comedy genius Seth MacFarlane (the mind behind 'Family Guy' and 'American Dad'), the film being his directorial debut. As such, Ted is packed full of the boundary-breaking humour we’ve all come to know and love; this is certainly a film not quite as cuddly as its main character!

Clarissa Gillingham

2. Brave (100 mins)

From Pixar Animation Studios, the company that brought you Toy Story, Finding Nemo and WALL-E, comes their first venture into fairy-tale 10th Century Scotland. Princess Merida (Kelly MacDonald) refuses to accept the age-old tradition of being married off to the victor of this year’s Highland Games and, in a quest to change her own fate, runs away from home, happening accross a witch who offers her help. But is this just a case of the ‘grass is greener’? Or will Princess Merida be truly happy with her new future? For this film, Pixar rewrote their animation system for the first time in 25 years with great success. Containing sensational imagery and a fantastic soundtrack to boot, Brave is not one to be missed.

Sam Kidman

3. The Usual Suspects (106 mins)

Make sure you are awake during this part of The AllNighter, because you’ll need to be switched on to follow all the twists and turns of Bryan Singer’s magnificent third film. The staggered narrative orbits the interrogation of small-time criminal Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey), and his account of five disparate criminals who are pulled into a high-stakes robbery under the influence of the mysterious, legendary crime boss Keyser Sӧze. Yet of course, it’s not as straightforward as a simple heist, and proceedings get messier and murkier as the film goes on. The Usual Suspects is wonderfully intelligent, but it packs in the brawn as well as the brains, balancing pulse-quickening action with its host of sharply-drawn characters, all culminating in one of the most perfectly executed twist endings in the history of cinema. A classic in every sense of the word, sleeping through this one is unthinkable.

Michael Perry

4. The Mystery Film (???? mins)

Locked in the vaults of WSC, not to be unveiled until halfway through the night, the Mystery Film is the biggest secret on campus. Will it be action? Comedy? Erotic thriller? There's only one way to find out.

5. The Bourne Legacy (135 mins)

The Bourne Legacy ends the spy franchise’s five year hiatus with ever-present series screenwriter Tony Gilroy, who helmed Michael Clayton, stepping up to direct in place of Paul Greengrass. Fresh off Avengers Assemble, double Oscar-nominee Renner (The Hurt Locker, The Town) assumes action-hero duties as Aaron Cross, an agent in Operation Outcome - successor project to Operation Treadstone, which spawned Jason Bourne. Legacy’s continuity is upheld by widespread character reprisals (Hirsch, Landy, Vosen and Kramer) as Cross’ parallel narrative interacts with events from Supremacy and Ultimatum. Newly-introduced antagonist Byer (Norton) seeks to prevent a domino-effect in Bourne-esque crises by eliminating potential rogue agents and associated loose-ends. At-once standalone and canon companion, Legacy ups the stakes in the series tenets of breathless, secrecy-soaked action-adventure with a tightly-guarded plotline promising to add further mystery to the All-Nighter.

Eoin Dignan

6. Jaws (124 mins, digital)

When it appears that a killer great white shark has set up shop on the coast of tourist destination Amity Island, Police Chief Brody, along with marine scientist Hooper (Dreyfuss) and grizzled fisherman Quint, sets out on an obscenely tiny boat to destroy the beast at all costs. The very real terror and suspense throughout the film comes from the fantastic direction from the legend that is Mr. Spielberg and the equally legendary score from John Williams. Heralded as the most frightening film to come out in the summer of 1975, if you haven’t seen Jaws you are missing out on one of the most perfectly crafted films you will ever see.

Clarissa Gillingham