Showing posts with label Cinema. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cinema. Show all posts
Monday, January 18, 2010
Duuude (The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus)
Wow, it's been said before and it will be said again, Terry Gilliam has a wild imagination. Or great insight on acid flashbacks...or possibly a little of both.
I saw 'The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus' today arriving in my seat not quite sure what to expect, always the case with a TG film. It did not disappoint as it's a many layered story both on screen and off. I say this as the movie is also notable in that it stands as the end piece to Heath Ledger's career and from that perspective it is a wonderful exclamation mark. The movie serves him well in many ways not least that several notable players stepped in to help finish the film after his untimely death. Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell pitch in and have been blended in to the film in such a way that it adds to the story rather than detracts.
All that said, the movie serves all its players and creators well in terms of story and visual depth. The film hosts dark and light in both the cinematography and the tale itself as characters strike deals with the devil to enhance their lives and then try to escape the consequences as the bills become due. The unwinding of the movie reel cajoles us to see what happens to the main protagonists and the innocents that are pulled in to their orbit.
The visual majesty is provided on several levels. It starts with the contrast between the world of a vagabond's circus show in down at heel London to the imagined worlds beyond the show's mirror. At this point TG steps through his own personal looking glass and ramps up the optical fireworks with his presentation of an array of worlds and questions that the various players imaginations create for themselves. And therein lies the essence of the film, great visuals encompassing a variety of moral dilemmas all played out around a deal with the devil.
It would bear a second watching for the astonishing visual scenes both sides of the mirror and some of the subtler aspects of both the action and the dialogue. If you wish to see it, it is definitely a movie you should try see at the cinema to do justice to the world's from the directors imagination.
As a footnote it is also possible to see some of the Monty Python stylings here and there but they are no distraction and for the audience that knows TG they will enjoy that and for those that don't they won't see it.
Slyest line of the movie for me..."Don't believe everything you read. Especially The Mirror."
Sunday, January 10, 2010
It's been a cinematic weekend
It's been chilly in Florida. Hard to believe but it's actually been freezing here in the south with snow in mid Florida...very weird. So needless to say we haven't been spending a lot of time outdoors, though Meliss did have to keep nipping out to cover her plants with a variety of things to stop them getting frostbite.
With the indoor approach to the weekend we went to the movies both days to stay warm and catch up on films that came out while we were away.
Yesterday we saw Avatar 3D. Really visually spectacular and a must see at the movies if you can. It's not a movie that will come across anywhere near as well on DVD/Blu-Ray...unless you have you're own home cinema with stadium seating of course. The 3D is interesting but not hugely obtrusive, though that may have been because we were sat in a corner of the cinema. The main feature over and above the 3D is the imagination of the folks who have created the fictional planet of Pandora. Because of that it's one of those movies you can watch over, not for the dialogue or story but for the details in the background. The story is nothing exceptional but plays well enough with the world and characters that it places on the screen. So if you're put off by the hype or sci-fi you should still go check it out and see for yourself.
The weekend's second movie was Holmes with Robert Downey jnr. A new interpretation of Conan Doyle's classic characters with another great set of visuals. This time the screen was filled by Victorian London with all it's dark, grimy corners and varied villainy. The movie has more action than the typical Holmes cerebral affair but balances the layers of humour, puzzle and action well enough to keep you focussed. Robert Downey slips into his role with the ease that he put on his costume and enjoys a tongue in cheek love fest with Jude Law as Watson. All in all a tale well told.
Avatar 4* - loses one for somewhat formulaic characterisation & dialogue
Holmes 4* - loses one for slightly slow pacing
With the indoor approach to the weekend we went to the movies both days to stay warm and catch up on films that came out while we were away.
Yesterday we saw Avatar 3D. Really visually spectacular and a must see at the movies if you can. It's not a movie that will come across anywhere near as well on DVD/Blu-Ray...unless you have you're own home cinema with stadium seating of course. The 3D is interesting but not hugely obtrusive, though that may have been because we were sat in a corner of the cinema. The main feature over and above the 3D is the imagination of the folks who have created the fictional planet of Pandora. Because of that it's one of those movies you can watch over, not for the dialogue or story but for the details in the background. The story is nothing exceptional but plays well enough with the world and characters that it places on the screen. So if you're put off by the hype or sci-fi you should still go check it out and see for yourself.
The weekend's second movie was Holmes with Robert Downey jnr. A new interpretation of Conan Doyle's classic characters with another great set of visuals. This time the screen was filled by Victorian London with all it's dark, grimy corners and varied villainy. The movie has more action than the typical Holmes cerebral affair but balances the layers of humour, puzzle and action well enough to keep you focussed. Robert Downey slips into his role with the ease that he put on his costume and enjoys a tongue in cheek love fest with Jude Law as Watson. All in all a tale well told.
Avatar 4* - loses one for somewhat formulaic characterisation & dialogue
Holmes 4* - loses one for slightly slow pacing
Monday, May 18, 2009
Weekend May 16 & 17
Just had an very enjoyable weekend although it may be fairer to say that events started Thursday night even though work on Friday was a bear in the middle of it all.
Thursday we went to see Don Henley in concert. He was was good, playing a lot of Eagles stuff in a good tight fashion although the concert was reasonably short at 90 minutes. But better going for quality than quantity having seen Fleetwood Mac a month ago and where the sound from the system, or venue, was so muffled I felt like I was listening from inside a garbage can (rubbish bin).
Friday we went to dinner with an acquaintance from England who we had not seen in 12 years and another couple who are mutual friends. A lot of stories shared and ribald stories told. I laughed so hard at one point I was crying and I am not one for laughing heartily let alone like that. Needless to say it is not a story I can relate here, partly because it will not translate and partly because it related to the moment. I think the odd thing to note is that dinner/drinks with a group of Americans is vastly different to that with Brits. There may be a thesis there as I am unable to readily explain it.
Saturday was chores (weed killing, car washing, cleaning our sprinkler filter, etc. wild stuff I know) with sorting things around the house before going to the cinema to see Wolverine which was very enjoyable. I am not a hard core comic buff having not read one for years so had little issue with the story though I believe that is not the case for some folks. I go to the cinema to be entertained having long ago accepted that films can rarely do justice to original source material.
Talking of which Sunday was breakfast with the kids and then the movies again to see Angels and Demons. This fits the same bill as above, entertaining and a good enough translation of the book for me. It's hard not to like Tom Hanks having seen him interviewed a couple of times this last week. Probably part of his success (really, you think so!).
A litany of events and things done but it led to positive and upbeat feeling through the weekend which has been hard to come by lately. So not to look a gift horse in the mouth I thought I would acknowledge the buzz and document it here.
TIOT
Thursday we went to see Don Henley in concert. He was was good, playing a lot of Eagles stuff in a good tight fashion although the concert was reasonably short at 90 minutes. But better going for quality than quantity having seen Fleetwood Mac a month ago and where the sound from the system, or venue, was so muffled I felt like I was listening from inside a garbage can (rubbish bin).
Friday we went to dinner with an acquaintance from England who we had not seen in 12 years and another couple who are mutual friends. A lot of stories shared and ribald stories told. I laughed so hard at one point I was crying and I am not one for laughing heartily let alone like that. Needless to say it is not a story I can relate here, partly because it will not translate and partly because it related to the moment. I think the odd thing to note is that dinner/drinks with a group of Americans is vastly different to that with Brits. There may be a thesis there as I am unable to readily explain it.
Saturday was chores (weed killing, car washing, cleaning our sprinkler filter, etc. wild stuff I know) with sorting things around the house before going to the cinema to see Wolverine which was very enjoyable. I am not a hard core comic buff having not read one for years so had little issue with the story though I believe that is not the case for some folks. I go to the cinema to be entertained having long ago accepted that films can rarely do justice to original source material.
Talking of which Sunday was breakfast with the kids and then the movies again to see Angels and Demons. This fits the same bill as above, entertaining and a good enough translation of the book for me. It's hard not to like Tom Hanks having seen him interviewed a couple of times this last week. Probably part of his success (really, you think so!).
A litany of events and things done but it led to positive and upbeat feeling through the weekend which has been hard to come by lately. So not to look a gift horse in the mouth I thought I would acknowledge the buzz and document it here.
TIOT
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