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Alice in Wonderland

July 20th 2010 22:39

I'd hate to be seen as just the latest in a long line of people putting the boot in on Tim Burton after his biggest commercial hit but, to be frank, I haven't really ever forgiven him since Planet of the Apes back in 2001. There's something parasitic about Burton wanting to use these popular and pre-established texts (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Planet of the Apes) and just keeping the concepts he wishes to 're-imagine'. Alice in Wonderland probably represents the worst of these re-imaginings as he proposes it as a sequel to the original texts and somewhat betrays the essence of Lewis Carroll's two Alice stories.

Alice (Mia Wasikowska) has grown to womanhood, convinced that her experiences in Wonderland are just half-remembered dreams. Her father has passed on and she now feels her family and peers pressuring her towards marriage with a rather feckless suitor. As this suitor proposes to her she finds herself distracted by a white rabbit, and follows it down a hole. She enters Underland, a strange and fantastic realm where the Red Queen (Helena Bonham-Carter) has placed the populace under her own particular brand of tyranny. The Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and other assorted characters from Lewis Caroll's original books have banded together as a rather motley resistance force, luring the adult Alice back to Underland in the hope that she will be able to defeat the Red Queen's champion, the Jabberwocky (Christopher Lee).

I'd have to say that Johnny Depp really missteps as the Mad Hatter... his wildly fluctuating Scottish-British accent (whilst apparently deliberate) isn't clearly explained enough to be anything other than distracting. A lot of the time he looks like a slightly bizarre Mick Hucknall, only imagine Hucknall as a five-year old girl who got into her mum's make-up. Depp's quirks feel like a grab-bag borrowed from his other performances, and the end result isn't original or strong enough to be of any real note other than as a parody of himself. Helena Bonham-Carter on the other hand is brilliant, and her line delivery is hilarious. Anne Hathaway is mildly interesting, but Crispin Glover is a little bit embarrassing - it's the sort of role that's a bit beneath his unique talents. The rest of the cast is recognisable enough but don't really make any impact.

It's somewhat ironic that Burton has made comments to the effect that the original Alice novels did little to engage him on an emotional level - hence his generic re-structuring of this film. I say ironic because Burton's Alice in Wonderland is all business and no charm. The CGI feels like a whitewash of animation, there's little connection to be had with the characters - even when it's the non-CGI Johnny Depp or Anne Hathaway. For all his criticism of Carroll's adherence to the 19th century fantasy genre, Burton's quest format feels unneccessary and at odds with the iconic characters. In fact, I fail to see why he would even want to make this film if he was such a non-fan of Carroll's books. There's a strong similarity between this film and Steven Spielberg's Hook, with both being re-imagined fantasy classics where the protagonist has forgotten about their original adventures. Both are also by celebrated filmmakers, and pretentiously set themselves as official sequels that apparently know better than the original texts. The main difference is that Hook still manages to be a fun enough film if taken on it's own merits, whereas Alice in Wonderland more than outstays it's welcome. For all it's visual flair, Burton's take on the story falls flat in a very big way.

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Adventure/Fantasy

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Public Enemies

July 2nd 2010 22:20

Michael Mann's retro gangster epic has more than a few things going for it... a dream teaming of Johnny Depp and Christian Bale, an extensive cast of talented but underated actors (Marion Cotillard, Stephen Dorff, Carey Mulligan, Leelee Sobieski, David Wenham, Billy Crudup and Stephen Graham, just to name a few), a serious exploration of the exploits of John Dillinger, and an epic face-off that runs the gamut of Mann's palette of intellectually-orientated action. Somehow, despite all this, Public Enemies falls more than a little shy of being the brilliant film everyone probably hoped it to be.

We join Dillinger (Johnny Depp) on a daring prison excursion where he masterminds the escape of several incarcerated gang members. Following this, J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) hand-selects the talents of one Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) to help bring Dillinger and other bank robbers to justice as part of the fledgling efforts of the F.B.I. (currently in it's infancy and facing bureaucratic and federal opposition). Early 1930s Depression-era America begins to evolve into a landscape of organised, violence-free crime and Dillinger increasingly finds himself on the backfoot as law enforcement becomes more sophisticated in reaction to his ballsy misadventures.

Public Enemies situates itself in a self-proclaimed 'golden age' of bank robbery, a brief era of cavalier crimes and colourfully-named criminals that would soon give way to the more business-like machinations of prohibition-fed hoodlums like Al Capone and Frank Nitti. As such, Public Enemies tells a tale of Dillinger steeped in modern folklore - his escapes, his last words, his last stand, etc. Michael Mann directs through the eye of a handheld digital camera, utilising a modern sense of digital verite to evoke realism alongside the lore of the era. As such, the film has an uphill battle in getting the average viewer on board - for most of the time it doesn't feel like a modern Hollywood action film, it's certainly less accessible than something by Martin Scorcese, and the opening scenes (whilst based on a riveting premise) don't make enough concessions to the audience or traditional film structure to be as engaging as they need to be. It also doesn't help that Depp's characterisation isn't the showy piece of quirkmanship most viewers probably expect of him. I'm not criticising Depp here, just offering an explanation for this film's lacklustre reception, and I think I'd have to say that this film could have been a little better if Mann had put a little more focus on the heart of the tale.

Depp's Dillinger is very much a celebrity of his era, though Mann and his fellow scriptwriters do little to suggest his status as a folk hero for the times. There are a smattering of lines alluding to how Dillinger likes to keep the public on side so he can hide amongst them, but beyond that the film has very little to say on the matter due to it's non-sensationalist manner. Depp gives a cocky, self-assured but ultimately likeable performance that's more attached to historical accuracy than any wanton exaggeration influenced by the usual icons of gangster cinema. Dillinger represents the idea of post-Depression nouveau ambition in a world of old money, and in many ways he symbolises the Depression and the attitudes it fostered (Dillinger remarks at one point that although the elite only care about where you're from, the only thing that really matters is where you're going). Acting-wise, it's a brave decision on Depp's part but also entirely in keeping with the atmosphere of the film. I think it could've been a great performance had it not been coupled with the deliberately unintrusive camera work... as such it falls a little short due to too much of Depp's performance taking place in the peripherals of the screen.

Christian Bale on the over hand is a complete let down. His accent sounds weird, his character (though probably entirely authentic) is boring, and his performance is decidely no-nonsense. There's a short piece of text at the film's end that talks about the fate of Bale's character that managed to gobsmack me... it was a hundred times more interesting than anything we got on screen from either Bale or Mann! This film should've and could've been a 1930s counterpart to Heat (Mann's other bank robbery-based epic), with an intense and finely-observed story of two men on opposite sides of the law. The two films share more than a few similarities, but alas - this aspect isn't one of them. Also, I mentioned at the beginning of this review that Public Enemies features an extensive cast of interesting and great actors - predictably, most of them are wasted. I'll be damned if I could spot David Wenham or Carey Mulligan amongst them. Billy Crudup is great as Hoover, but Stephen Graham barely gets a line as Baby-Face Nelson, and Marion Cotillard is probably the only person besides Depp to get the screen time she deserves. One look at the castlist on IMDB.com reveals a cast of roughly 70 credited actors - most of whose characters have names or dialogue. Whilst watching the film you'd be forgiven for thinking that the film only really has six characters on screen - an unfortunate byproduct of the digital verite style.

Mann generally doesn't really stab to the heart of the story's themes and seems to be more interested in just putting this partial biopic up on screen in a realistic fashion. Having said that, he still knows how to shoot one hell of a gunfight, and the anachronistic but suitable banjo music was brilliant. I also enjoyed the fascinating historical detail regarding Hoover's war on crime, showing firsthand the origins of the FBI - how it was built out of a reaction to state lines and corrupt counties harbouring criminals, and how it grew via early forensic methods in a pre-television, pre-surveillance age. Also, for all the film's flaws and inherent flatness, the ending was absolutely amazing. Public Enemies plays out scenes of the last film Dillinger goes to see (Manhattan Melodrama) along with shots of Dillenger himself, and sets it to a modern soundtrack to find a synergetic collusion between the two texts. Depp's knowingly stoic gaze as the themes of Manhattan Melodrama literally speak to him about Dillinger's life are probably worth alone the film's somewhat patchy 130 minute journey.

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Gangster

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Exclusive - Follow-Up to TV show "Lost

June 1st 2010 05:17

Through one of my many secret sources I have managed to get my hands on a leaked treatment for Lost 2, a proposed sequel series to the smash hit phenomenon Lost.

Lost 2 will start with the crashing of a new plane on the island, bringing with it a host of new characters. Among them will be Valdez, a tough-talking Latina boxer who was flying back to America after losing a match in Australia. Valdez will head up a cast of fresh, up and coming talent including Rory Culkin as a burnt out drummer with a drinking problem, Alicia Silverstone as a writer with a shady past, an as-yet unnamed nervous surgeon who specializes in cancer removal, Hayden Panettiere as a vegan animal rights activist and a yet-to-be-cast arrogant Japanese whaler. The pivotal character of Valdez is also yet to be cast but rumour has it that Michael Chiklis is being courted for the role.

The new Losties will have to learn to get along, special mention going to the vegan and the whaler who will play out an engaging will-they or won’t-they relationship throughout the first season. The newcomers will also have to unravel the mystery of the island as they hear legends of a mysterious man named Hugo, his sidekick, Ben, and a miraculous, wisecracking dog named Vincent who gained the ability to talk after a freak electro-magnetic occurrence.

Lost writers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof promise to address some of the great unanswered questions of the series, including the origins of the mysterious Polar Bears, who seek to take the island for themselves in a bid for world domination.

Proposed story arcs involve the examination of the backstories for the new Lost characters in the first series and their discovery of Hugo. A second series story arc that will reveal a second group of Lost characters on the other side of the island (including Chris Tucker in a reality-bending role where he will play himself as a marooned passenger). The third series promises to shake things up by sending some of the cast back in time to the late 19th century where the island was briefly a whaling station for the Japanese… they will have to learn to get along with these backwards whalers despite their idealogical differences, and this will provide an ample platform to explore issues related to whaling and Japan’s refusal to stop this practice. A fourth series will see the return of Mr. Eko, who is found trapped inside a special genie bottle that Jakob set up in case of emergencies.

Tim Curry is almost 95% confirmed as the voice of Vincent.

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Whale Rider

May 22nd 2010 07:35

Most Americans will know this film (if they know it at all) as a small New Zealand film in which a young girl was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award in 2004. Every now again the Academy will find a random, non-American performance like this and elevate it to global scrutiny (another example that comes to mind is the nomination of Catalina Sandino Moreno the following year for Maria Full of Grace)... it's a strange gesture that feels altogether political, especially since these actresses never ever actually win. The positive knock-on effect of this though is that Whale Rider received a lot of exposure as a result - the kind of attention a small-scale film like this wouldn't even dream of achieving. It's worth such attention

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Drama

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The Road

April 17th 2010 00:59

The trouble with adapting a widely-acclaimed and Pullitzer-price winning novel like The Road is that everyone waits for it with held breath. The filmmakers have an uphill struggle in winning over their audience before the film has even started, and fans of the novel (and I hesistate to use a word like 'fans' in reference to such a particularly bleak novel) are resistant to the film's chance at success. I've long been a defender of Hollywood's tradition of sourcing films from books, comics, older movies, etc, but even I found myself baulking at the idea of adapting Cormac McCarthy's The Road to film (I was at my most worried when I saw the presence of Charlize Theron in the trailer). But now that I've seen The Road I find myself struggling to understand why this film failed to gain any Academy Award nominations... the film so perfectly captures the book in tone, characterisation and plot that it's hard to imagine a better or more faithful adaptation

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Science Fiction

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Big Man Japan

April 15th 2010 10:55

Big Man Japan is exactly what it sounds like. It's literally about a big man in Japan... he is even referred to as Big Man Japan. You know how Japan always gets attacked by huge monsters in movies like Godzilla and Godzilla Vs. Mecha-Kong or whatever? This movie supposes that Japan has a built-in tradition of 'Big Men' who defend the country from such monsters. Big Man Japan is the last of these protectors, an unassuming regular-sized man who 'powers up' at electrical stations to become a nappy-sporting giant. This movie takes a documentary-styled approach to his story, interviewing him about his job as Big Man Japan and following him during and between his engagements with an array of bizarre city-destroying monsters over the course of four seasons

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Adventure/Fantasy

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The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus

April 7th 2010 09:48

Terry Gilliam has had a somewhat erratic career as a director. Starting out as animator, director and part-time performer for Monty Python, he first broke out alone with the medieval comedy Jabberwocky... a fun and slightly offputting exercise in historically-correct grottiness. From there he crafted masterful flights of fancy such as Brazil, The Fisher King and Twelve Monkeys. Throughout this career he has struggled to secure budgets and control over final cuts, with ill luck forcing him to abandon production of The Man Who Killed Don Quixote nearly 10 years ago. Financial restraints and creative squabbling saw the more recent The Brothers Grimm fall prey to a drastic neutering that left it a poor and ineffective shadow of what it might've been. The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus is the latest Gilliam epic that almost never made it to the screen, with the mid-shoot death of Heath Ledger casting doubts on the film's future. Fortunately, the nature of the film's story and the amount of footage Ledger had already shot allowed Gilliam to salvage his vision with a few minor re-writes. I say fortunately because I'm not sure if Gilliam would've survived another abandoned film, I'm not actually referring to The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus itself as it isn't the great new Gilliam masterpiece we've all been waiting for

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Adventure/Fantasy

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The 2010 Oscars - Thoughts

March 9th 2010 02:37

BEST FILM

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Academy Awards

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The Blind Side

March 3rd 2010 13:16

Of all the Best Picture nominees for the 2010 Oscars this would have to be the least deserving. It's not that the movie is poorly made or anything, it's just that it's such an underachieving, middle-of-the-road film - which is ironic considering the subject matter. The 'blind side' of the title refers to the lead defensive player in grid iron, his job being to protect the blind side of the team. The film itself concerns a big, disadvantaged black kid who gets taken in by a rich white family. Said family then helps black kid realise his potential as a talented, game-changing footballer. Inspirational true story ensues

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Posted By: Luke - Category: Drama

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This Sporting Life

February 25th 2010 06:07

From the opening scenes of unfettered aggression on the football field it becomes patently clear that this isn't your typical 1960s drama. This Sporting Life is a dense and brutally honest examination of the male character as refracted through the prism of a successful sporting career. Sports movies are, by and large, usually about a facet of the sport in question that bears examining. Here, the sport featured (rugby league), is incidental and microcosm to a wider question of masculinity. The title of the film itself is an elegant and understated joke at the expense of previous modes of filmmaking... director Lindsay Anderson dissects the protagonist's life with an unwavering sense of objectivity, washing away many decades of film conventions in regards to audience sympathy and the previously established unwritten laws of dramatic narrative. Footy player Frank Machin's less-than-perfect life is laid bare without irony or gloss, at the time raising a new bar for realism in English-speaking film, and as a result it remains a timeless and un-dated work of art

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July 2010

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June 2010

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May 2010