Ahh!! Technology in film, a corporate exercise at attracting consumers to cinema screens. For two and a half years, I have been pulled right in front of a cinema screen and had some or most of cinematic experiences ruined by vast capitalist corparations earning money through the use of the most criminal crime ever introduced to Cinema, 3-D. That's right 3-D, a horrible, indulgent and consumerist idea that somehow if we have objects or people popping out of our screens, we will somehow say "oohh that's so clever, that's so brilliant and creative and we must do this more often". Well you know what, I think it can go to hell as far as I'm concerned because of the sole reason that it does not work. A few years ago I went to a see a new art house blcokbuster known as Avatar (2009). Now back then everyone was nagging about how Cinema has been the same thing all the time, just a normal screen with THX surround sound with no actual excitment. So after that Avatar became all the rave after jumpstarting 3-D which had only been mildly used in the mid 2000's. Now funny thing is when I saw Avatar (Brilliant film by the way), I commented on the 3-D by saying to my friend, "Is that it, Is that all it was". I have no distaste for 1080p use of camera in a cinema, but 3-D is a fraud and must be stopped. Ever since Avatar has been released, directors of mainstream blockbuster films have foolishly put 3-D into good films such as Captain America: The First Avenger and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Both 2011). It has been lambasted by critics and small audiences around the world but there are some who feel more excited with its use, but it will hopefully in time, cease to exist.
Thank you and stay tuned.
The Count
Saturday 22 October 2011
Thursday 20 October 2011
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
During the 1970's, a lot of depression and sadness was among general public around the world. Ongoing conflicts like the Vietnam War and political woes like the Watergate Scandal were the downside and cause of this apparent sadness. However with cinema goers, this was the dawn of the modern blockbuster films. Films like Jaws (1975) and The Towering Inferno (1974), had been huge and unpredicted successful blockbusters and those who went to see these new types of films were eager to have something out of this world thrown right in their face.
In 1974, a young and aspiring filmmaker named George Lucas, was writing a film named "The Star Wars". He sold the rights of the film to 20th Century Fox and they trusted him to create this new vision of groundbreaking special effects and science fiction. After being behind schedule because of the effects involved, Lucas released the film named Star Wars in May 1977 with the understanding that the film would be a box office bomb and a critical failure. On the contrary, the film would turn out to be one of the most financially successful films of all time and it certainly gave cinema goers something that they had never even dreamed for.
Star Wars takes place in a galaxy far, far away as it is described in the film. The opening shot happens to be one of my personal favorite openings to a film that I have ever seen as it so simply described and it is not complicated for the average viewer. An opening crawl of words describes the galaxy in a period of civil war and that a Rebellion against the evil Galactic Empire, has stolen secret plans leading the key to the destruction of an imperial space station which has enough power to destroy an entire planet. Princess Leia of the planet Alderaan has stolen these plans and is currently on her space ship escaping imperial cruisers. We get a shot of that Imperial Cruiser firing at her ship which begins the story. In the Princess's ship, two robots named C-3P0 and R2-D2 escape the Imperial Stormtroopers in an escape pod and crash land on a desert planet named Tatooine where they end up in the care of a young farm boy named Luke Skywalker who lives with his aunt and uncle. Luke finds the message left by Princess Leia to someone named Obi-Wan Kenobi but the only Kenobi Luke knows of, is Ben Kenobi a hermit who lives on the outskirts of a local town. When Luke meets Ben Kenobi again, he tells him that he is Obi-Wan Kenobi and he was part of a order called the Jedi. Kenobi explains that Luke's father was a Jedi and a close friend of Kenobi's until he was murdered by a pupil named Darth Vader who eventually helped the Empire hunt down and murder the Jedi. Kenobi explains that Luke and him should head to the planet Alderaan so that Luke can learn the ways of the Jedi's power, the Force. They try to find someone who will fly them there and they end up being flown by a smuggler named Han Solo and his first mate Chewbacca an tall furry bear like creature. When they find that Alderaan has been destroyed by the Empire, they accidently end up on the Empire's space station, the Death Star. They soon learn that Princess Leia is onboard in a cell and after finding and getting back to the ship, Kenobi lets himself be killed by Darth Vader to buy them time. They escape and land in Rebellion's base. The plans that were stolen turn out to be video of the Death Star's weak spot which is a hole in a trench leading to main reactors which if a rebel ship could fire through, it would be destroyed. A Rebel fleet is sent including Luke but not Han as he needs to get back to Tatooine. The fleet suffers heavy losses in the space battle but Luke manages to destroy the Death Star after Han buys him time. The End.
If you were living in the 1970's and were a film fan, trying to imagine that on the big screen would be virtually impossible. These days, the world of visual effects has moved into computer generated effects and the new use of motion capture technology. Back then, it would have been models and blue screen shots to have completed a effects scene. For sheer inventiveness,determination to get his film completed and courage against the financial troubles of the studio, George Lucas deserves a medal for Star Wars. What I like however, most about Star Wars is not the Visual Effects or the action sequences. It is the simplicity of the story line which is very much so a simple fairy tale in space which not only relates to adults, but to children as well and if you could achieve that you would a hugely positive audience. I also like the acting of this film with faces like Harrison Ford from Indiana Jones and Mark Hamil from hmmm....nothing I suppose. But the real scene stealer, is British actor Sir Alec Guinness who as Obi-Wan Kenobi brings warmth and sheer professionalism to the film which is perfectly executed. The character devoloping is great and whats more, the story never gets complicated.
Star Wars would spawn an entire franchise of sequels and even prequels. The first sequel was titled Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back which would lead to confusion because of the inclusion of Episode V. This was because George Lucas intended there to be a prequel trilogy but he decided that technology in the 1980's had not caught up to what he had wanted. But when the groundbreaking use of Computer Generated Imagery was used in films like Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Jurassic Park (1993), Lucas decided to make his prequels in 1998. But before that in 1997, the original Star Wars films were re-released with new enhanced visual effects replacing scenes he couldn't get right the first time round. The Orignal trilogy films were now known as: Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983).
While the prequels were not as popular among fans, Lucas has enjoyed a life of luxury as a result of the success of the first films. A New Hope still remains for me a gem in filmmaking and an unforgettable experience.
I will give it 4/4 stars. Stay tuned for more next time.
In 1974, a young and aspiring filmmaker named George Lucas, was writing a film named "The Star Wars". He sold the rights of the film to 20th Century Fox and they trusted him to create this new vision of groundbreaking special effects and science fiction. After being behind schedule because of the effects involved, Lucas released the film named Star Wars in May 1977 with the understanding that the film would be a box office bomb and a critical failure. On the contrary, the film would turn out to be one of the most financially successful films of all time and it certainly gave cinema goers something that they had never even dreamed for.
Star Wars takes place in a galaxy far, far away as it is described in the film. The opening shot happens to be one of my personal favorite openings to a film that I have ever seen as it so simply described and it is not complicated for the average viewer. An opening crawl of words describes the galaxy in a period of civil war and that a Rebellion against the evil Galactic Empire, has stolen secret plans leading the key to the destruction of an imperial space station which has enough power to destroy an entire planet. Princess Leia of the planet Alderaan has stolen these plans and is currently on her space ship escaping imperial cruisers. We get a shot of that Imperial Cruiser firing at her ship which begins the story. In the Princess's ship, two robots named C-3P0 and R2-D2 escape the Imperial Stormtroopers in an escape pod and crash land on a desert planet named Tatooine where they end up in the care of a young farm boy named Luke Skywalker who lives with his aunt and uncle. Luke finds the message left by Princess Leia to someone named Obi-Wan Kenobi but the only Kenobi Luke knows of, is Ben Kenobi a hermit who lives on the outskirts of a local town. When Luke meets Ben Kenobi again, he tells him that he is Obi-Wan Kenobi and he was part of a order called the Jedi. Kenobi explains that Luke's father was a Jedi and a close friend of Kenobi's until he was murdered by a pupil named Darth Vader who eventually helped the Empire hunt down and murder the Jedi. Kenobi explains that Luke and him should head to the planet Alderaan so that Luke can learn the ways of the Jedi's power, the Force. They try to find someone who will fly them there and they end up being flown by a smuggler named Han Solo and his first mate Chewbacca an tall furry bear like creature. When they find that Alderaan has been destroyed by the Empire, they accidently end up on the Empire's space station, the Death Star. They soon learn that Princess Leia is onboard in a cell and after finding and getting back to the ship, Kenobi lets himself be killed by Darth Vader to buy them time. They escape and land in Rebellion's base. The plans that were stolen turn out to be video of the Death Star's weak spot which is a hole in a trench leading to main reactors which if a rebel ship could fire through, it would be destroyed. A Rebel fleet is sent including Luke but not Han as he needs to get back to Tatooine. The fleet suffers heavy losses in the space battle but Luke manages to destroy the Death Star after Han buys him time. The End.
If you were living in the 1970's and were a film fan, trying to imagine that on the big screen would be virtually impossible. These days, the world of visual effects has moved into computer generated effects and the new use of motion capture technology. Back then, it would have been models and blue screen shots to have completed a effects scene. For sheer inventiveness,determination to get his film completed and courage against the financial troubles of the studio, George Lucas deserves a medal for Star Wars. What I like however, most about Star Wars is not the Visual Effects or the action sequences. It is the simplicity of the story line which is very much so a simple fairy tale in space which not only relates to adults, but to children as well and if you could achieve that you would a hugely positive audience. I also like the acting of this film with faces like Harrison Ford from Indiana Jones and Mark Hamil from hmmm....nothing I suppose. But the real scene stealer, is British actor Sir Alec Guinness who as Obi-Wan Kenobi brings warmth and sheer professionalism to the film which is perfectly executed. The character devoloping is great and whats more, the story never gets complicated.
Star Wars would spawn an entire franchise of sequels and even prequels. The first sequel was titled Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back which would lead to confusion because of the inclusion of Episode V. This was because George Lucas intended there to be a prequel trilogy but he decided that technology in the 1980's had not caught up to what he had wanted. But when the groundbreaking use of Computer Generated Imagery was used in films like Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and Jurassic Park (1993), Lucas decided to make his prequels in 1998. But before that in 1997, the original Star Wars films were re-released with new enhanced visual effects replacing scenes he couldn't get right the first time round. The Orignal trilogy films were now known as: Episode IV: A New Hope, Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983).
While the prequels were not as popular among fans, Lucas has enjoyed a life of luxury as a result of the success of the first films. A New Hope still remains for me a gem in filmmaking and an unforgettable experience.
I will give it 4/4 stars. Stay tuned for more next time.
Friday 15 July 2011
Alien (1979)
I know what your thinking and yes I agree, it has been nearly an age since I did a review for any film. This is a small error in my work but we can forget about that and move on with my review of my favourite Science Fiction film. Its one that has shocked audiences and fans for 32 years now. Yes this film is Ridley Scott's masterpiece, Alien.
Alien is a film about seven engineers or astronauts on an enormous vessel/spaceship called the Nostromo. While sleeping for the return journey for Earth, the ship's computer Mother, reads a transmission from another planet which cuts short the journey home and the crew are told by the company that loan them out in space, to investigate this mysterious planet. Once on the planet, three of the crew search through an abandoned derelict ship on the planet's surface. As they investigate, a crew member finds a room full of eggs and eventually has an organism from one of the egg attached to his face. When the crew leave the planet and the organism leaves the crew member's face, they have a turn for the worse when a small alien bursts through the crew member's chest and escapes into the rest of the gigantic ship. The story concludes with a long act of the crew being finished off one by one until Sigourney Weaver as Ripley the Warrant Officer escapes in the shuttle, destroys the ship thinking the alien is in the ship but soon finds out it stowed away with her on the shuttle and then she kills it. End of story.
Now for the time of 1979, Alien was controversial for it's only one graphic horror scene as it was never seen in an explicit way in any film before. Personally I think this is the best Science Fiction film, because it doesn't use big special effects to capture an audience like Star Wars, it doesn't make itself too gory apart from the one scene which was unexpected, it doesn't have the usual old corny sci-fi dialogue like Star Wars and Silent Running and it doesn't use consistent violence to make it a scary horror film. Instead it uses quiet suspense to make audiences jumpy or frightened. Alien also has a relatively small cast consisting of eight people (including Bolaji Badejo as the Alien in a costume) and a ginger cat. I thought the cast were very convincing as the crew, especially Ian Holm as the secret android sent by the ruthless company who loaned out the crew.
The film became so sucessful that 20th Century Fox released a worthy sequel in 1986 named Aliens. But after Aliens, came the biggest and saddest loss with Alien 3, a horrible, bleak and disgusting film that brought down the franchise. Hard to believe that Alien 3 was David Fincher's first film and its even worse now because I became a massive fan of David Fincher as soon as he redeemed himself with Se7en (1995). If your asking yourself about the spelling, please don't be annoyed its just how the title was stylised. In 1997, 20th Century Fox had to ruin the franchise even more by bringing out Alien: Resurrection. Well the only words I can use for 20th Century Fox are, I'm unbelievably horrified at what you have done to ruin a potentially good franchise by releasing the latter of films.
I will give Alien (1979) 4/4 stars and you can catch all my reviews at Reviews from the Count via Blogspot.
Alien is a film about seven engineers or astronauts on an enormous vessel/spaceship called the Nostromo. While sleeping for the return journey for Earth, the ship's computer Mother, reads a transmission from another planet which cuts short the journey home and the crew are told by the company that loan them out in space, to investigate this mysterious planet. Once on the planet, three of the crew search through an abandoned derelict ship on the planet's surface. As they investigate, a crew member finds a room full of eggs and eventually has an organism from one of the egg attached to his face. When the crew leave the planet and the organism leaves the crew member's face, they have a turn for the worse when a small alien bursts through the crew member's chest and escapes into the rest of the gigantic ship. The story concludes with a long act of the crew being finished off one by one until Sigourney Weaver as Ripley the Warrant Officer escapes in the shuttle, destroys the ship thinking the alien is in the ship but soon finds out it stowed away with her on the shuttle and then she kills it. End of story.
Now for the time of 1979, Alien was controversial for it's only one graphic horror scene as it was never seen in an explicit way in any film before. Personally I think this is the best Science Fiction film, because it doesn't use big special effects to capture an audience like Star Wars, it doesn't make itself too gory apart from the one scene which was unexpected, it doesn't have the usual old corny sci-fi dialogue like Star Wars and Silent Running and it doesn't use consistent violence to make it a scary horror film. Instead it uses quiet suspense to make audiences jumpy or frightened. Alien also has a relatively small cast consisting of eight people (including Bolaji Badejo as the Alien in a costume) and a ginger cat. I thought the cast were very convincing as the crew, especially Ian Holm as the secret android sent by the ruthless company who loaned out the crew.
The film became so sucessful that 20th Century Fox released a worthy sequel in 1986 named Aliens. But after Aliens, came the biggest and saddest loss with Alien 3, a horrible, bleak and disgusting film that brought down the franchise. Hard to believe that Alien 3 was David Fincher's first film and its even worse now because I became a massive fan of David Fincher as soon as he redeemed himself with Se7en (1995). If your asking yourself about the spelling, please don't be annoyed its just how the title was stylised. In 1997, 20th Century Fox had to ruin the franchise even more by bringing out Alien: Resurrection. Well the only words I can use for 20th Century Fox are, I'm unbelievably horrified at what you have done to ruin a potentially good franchise by releasing the latter of films.
I will give Alien (1979) 4/4 stars and you can catch all my reviews at Reviews from the Count via Blogspot.
Sunday 15 May 2011
Fantasia 2000 (1999)
In 1940, Walt Disney set up a new kind of animated film. A film that has been seen as landmark in the history of animation and Disney. This film was Fantasia. It was a film that would combine animation and musical symphonies with different kinds of new animation in several different segments. Disney thought that this would revolutionize almost every thing he ever worked on or created. Fantasia as released in 1940 to a positive critical and audience reaction and was put as the 2nd best film of 1940 by the National Board of Review for the reasons that it was influential new kind of animated film. Disney on the other hand was not so enthusiastic. He thought the film was a failure and was nothing like he had imagined or expected. The dream of combining animation with musical symphonies was lost for years on end until in 1998 when Roy Disney (nephew of Walt Disney), came up with the idea of a sequel to Fantasia named Fantasia 2000 which would contain seven new segments of animation and music including one classic favorite (The Sorcerer's Apprentice). It would be released in Cinemas in 1999 and in Imax from January 1st 2000 to April 30th 2000.
When I first heard of Fantasia 2000, I had thoughts of low expectations. This was because the first Fantasia was so brilliant that I never thought a sequel to this film would succeed it as it is very rare to have sequel surpass their predecessors e.g Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and The Godfather: Part II. As soon as this sequel pressed on my eyes, I was completely and utterly mesmerized at the quality and superior animation that was devised in this sequel. The new segments I thought were completely revolutionary and this was definitely a sequel that would for me surpass it's predecessor.
Now for my review in which I will review this film by review each segment in the film to make things interesting.
Symphony No. 5 in C minor-I. Allegro con brio by Ludwig van Beethoven
The first Fantasia 2000 segment starts off to the musical note of Beethoven's Symphony No.5 with some abstract shapes and colours which take the shape of butterflies trying to escape a multitude of bats in spectacular splashes of light. This segment's surrealism gives the film a grand opening and makes it an accomplished segment because the musical number fills in very well with this segment and gives it a different and unknown kind of animation for viewers to see which is surreal art. Surreal art is one of my favorite kinds of art and I was very pleased to see it in brilliant form.
Pines of Rome by Ottorino Respighi
For the second segment of Fantasia 2000, The Pines of Rome by Ottorino Respighi was chosen to be played along with the animated story of a group of whales who are able to fly due to a supernova occurring in the water they live in. They are then able to fly into the clouds to another nesting grounds of water. This segment is a grand spectacle of Computer animation as well as traditional animation. The Computer animation which is used in the whales is brilliant because for a time like 1999, this was groundbreaking technology and it is wonderful to see it in animation because it gives animators inspiration to go to new grounds of animation. This segment is my favorite because it has grand tune towards it and the story of it is brilliantly put forward to this animated tale of magnificence. There is a part of this segment in which the whales rise from the water into the new world in the clouds. This part shows a great representation to drumbeats of war which made me prefer this segment more and more because it looked different to any other kind of animation I had ever seen.
Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin
The third segment of Fantasia 2000 takes us to the streets of New York during the Great Depression. The musical number is the famous Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin which gives the segment a jazzy and tuneful theme upon itself. This segment's animation was inspired by the animation of Al Hirschfeld whose animated productions have delighted audiences around the world and certainly when it was used here. This segment remains a complete success because it is terrific at relating the perils of the Great Depression with children as well as adults and if anyone could relate trauma and perils in a colourful and charming way then they would become great tellers of harsh times. The whole layout of this segment is brilliant and it deserves a standing ovation. I did not think it was one the best segments but it was not a bad one.
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major-I. Allegro by Dmitri Shostakovich
Our fourth segment is based upon the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale, The Story of the Steadfast Tin Soldier. This segment is drawn upon traditional animation in classic fairy tale fashion of music and art. I don't have much to say about this particular segment apart from that I thought the music went very well with this tale of animation and I think that is what remains is that the animation is very similar to animated films like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King and that makes it very relatable to modern audiences and children. The musical number which comes from Dimitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No.2, creates a connection with this fairy tale in the sense that it becomes almost as similar as the segment itself making it perfect for the task.
The Carnival of the Animals, Finale by Camille Saint-Saëns
The fifth act of the film takes place among a bunch of flamingos who go by their boring routines until another flamingo comes along with a yo-yo to ruin it all for them in comical fashion. This brilliantly built along to the musical tune of Camille Saint Saens' The Carnival of the Animals. Although this segment is short, it does provide a lot of fun for different types of audiences and is created to be very funny as well as being brilliantly constructed to provide a great new segment.
I will not include The Sorcerer's Apprentice as it is from the original Fantasia in 1940 and need not be reviewed as it is one that is famous and that most of us know about. However I will include a video as a reminder.
When I first heard of Fantasia 2000, I had thoughts of low expectations. This was because the first Fantasia was so brilliant that I never thought a sequel to this film would succeed it as it is very rare to have sequel surpass their predecessors e.g Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and The Godfather: Part II. As soon as this sequel pressed on my eyes, I was completely and utterly mesmerized at the quality and superior animation that was devised in this sequel. The new segments I thought were completely revolutionary and this was definitely a sequel that would for me surpass it's predecessor.
Now for my review in which I will review this film by review each segment in the film to make things interesting.
Symphony No. 5 in C minor-I. Allegro con brio by Ludwig van Beethoven
The first Fantasia 2000 segment starts off to the musical note of Beethoven's Symphony No.5 with some abstract shapes and colours which take the shape of butterflies trying to escape a multitude of bats in spectacular splashes of light. This segment's surrealism gives the film a grand opening and makes it an accomplished segment because the musical number fills in very well with this segment and gives it a different and unknown kind of animation for viewers to see which is surreal art. Surreal art is one of my favorite kinds of art and I was very pleased to see it in brilliant form.
Pines of Rome by Ottorino Respighi
For the second segment of Fantasia 2000, The Pines of Rome by Ottorino Respighi was chosen to be played along with the animated story of a group of whales who are able to fly due to a supernova occurring in the water they live in. They are then able to fly into the clouds to another nesting grounds of water. This segment is a grand spectacle of Computer animation as well as traditional animation. The Computer animation which is used in the whales is brilliant because for a time like 1999, this was groundbreaking technology and it is wonderful to see it in animation because it gives animators inspiration to go to new grounds of animation. This segment is my favorite because it has grand tune towards it and the story of it is brilliantly put forward to this animated tale of magnificence. There is a part of this segment in which the whales rise from the water into the new world in the clouds. This part shows a great representation to drumbeats of war which made me prefer this segment more and more because it looked different to any other kind of animation I had ever seen.
Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin
The third segment of Fantasia 2000 takes us to the streets of New York during the Great Depression. The musical number is the famous Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin which gives the segment a jazzy and tuneful theme upon itself. This segment's animation was inspired by the animation of Al Hirschfeld whose animated productions have delighted audiences around the world and certainly when it was used here. This segment remains a complete success because it is terrific at relating the perils of the Great Depression with children as well as adults and if anyone could relate trauma and perils in a colourful and charming way then they would become great tellers of harsh times. The whole layout of this segment is brilliant and it deserves a standing ovation. I did not think it was one the best segments but it was not a bad one.
Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Major-I. Allegro by Dmitri Shostakovich
Our fourth segment is based upon the classic Hans Christian Andersen tale, The Story of the Steadfast Tin Soldier. This segment is drawn upon traditional animation in classic fairy tale fashion of music and art. I don't have much to say about this particular segment apart from that I thought the music went very well with this tale of animation and I think that is what remains is that the animation is very similar to animated films like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King and that makes it very relatable to modern audiences and children. The musical number which comes from Dimitri Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No.2, creates a connection with this fairy tale in the sense that it becomes almost as similar as the segment itself making it perfect for the task.
The Carnival of the Animals, Finale by Camille Saint-Saëns
The fifth act of the film takes place among a bunch of flamingos who go by their boring routines until another flamingo comes along with a yo-yo to ruin it all for them in comical fashion. This brilliantly built along to the musical tune of Camille Saint Saens' The Carnival of the Animals. Although this segment is short, it does provide a lot of fun for different types of audiences and is created to be very funny as well as being brilliantly constructed to provide a great new segment.
I will not include The Sorcerer's Apprentice as it is from the original Fantasia in 1940 and need not be reviewed as it is one that is famous and that most of us know about. However I will include a video as a reminder.
To start our final two acts, we have Donald Duck appearing in a story based on Noah's Ark with Donald as Noah's First Mate. This is combined with Sir Edward Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance Marches to create grand march between the animation and the music. It successfully attains that goal by making traditional animation fun to watch as we see Donald Duck messing about with the animals while also being reunited with his wife towards the end after believing that she might have died when the flood came. If there was ever going to be a third Fantasia, I believe this one would be chosen as it contains Donald Duck in an unforgettable cartoon.
Our final piece is taken from Igor Stravinsky's Firebird Suite. The animated story is that of a woodland sprite who is accompanied by a deer to bring happiness toward the forest they live in by having the sprite make everything shiny and wonderful until we come to a nearby volcano where inside a firebird lives. As we might expect the sprite gets destroyed by the firebird but is resurrected by her companion to remake what happened earlier but this the sprite manages to spread grass and trees and shiny stuff around the volcano and the forrest surrounding it. This Segment is a metaphor for the 1980 eruption of the Mount St. Helens volcano. It manages to gives us one final grand animated tale which combines macabre and fantasy in one huge spectacle of light and destruction. I thought it was a great tale and definitely deserves a standing ovation.
This concludes Fantasia 2000. It is a film that deserves to be recognized even if it was a box office disaster. It will remain with me a classic animated film because as I have said many times it is very good at combining new kinds of animation such as the whales in the second segment and the sprite in the last segment. If any animated tale could achieve that then they would bring new delights for audiences and critics. I enjoyed every piece of this film and deserves multiple audiences as well as praise from anyone.
I will give Fantasia 2000 4/4 stars and you can catch all my review at Blogspot.
Tuesday 19 April 2011
Inception (2010)
A film that most film critics have been raving about in the last year, Inception has taken people to a new level of filmmaking and has impressed film fans and critics to an acclaimed status worldwide. It was named the best film of 2010 on numerous occasions and won four Academy Awards including: Visual Effects, Cinematography and two Sound Awards whilst being nominated for four others including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. To me this Christopher Nolan's third best film after Memento and The Dark Knight.
Now for my Review of Inception. The term "Inception" is defined as someone planting an idea into someone's mind using a device which lets humans invade another human's sub-conscious (dreams). This film's plot is about a skilled thief played brilliantly by Leonardo Di Caprio, who needs to perform Inception on the heir of a Business Empire in order to get back to his home. Now if this technology existed, we would never be considered safe anymore even if we really thought this was groundbreaking. The thief Dom Cobb, is said to be the best at stealing information from a human's mind and he proves this at the beginning of the film when he and his partner Arthur played by Joseph Gordon Levitt, steal information from the mind of Mr Saito played by Ken Watanabe as part of an audition to see if the best extractors can perform "Inception".
The whole premise of this film makes it sound like a Stanley Kubrick film as we can recognize some motives and ideas constructed in the visual style of Kubrick's films. This film has so many great ideas inside it and uses those ideas to create a two hour long maze of a film as if it were created to make us confused and feeling motivated to use our minds to work every piece of what was coming next. I honestly thought I that this film was not an amazingly great film but I thought it was a good film even if it did borrow some ideas from films of Stanley Kubrick and the science-fiction action film, The Matrix (1999). My reasons for my liking of Inception are as follows: Point 1. Its Art Direction, Visual Effects and Original Score make it one of the best looking films I've seen in recent years. Those three elements are so brilliantly put together that it gives the film a greater edge towards it. Point 2. The Cast was very wise choice especially with the enigmatic performance of Eames played by Tom Hardy. The actors in this film make it a very realistic film as it explores corporate espionage in it's ruthlessness and dishonesty. One actor I was pleased to see out of the rest was Tom Berenger. Berenger has acted in many films including my personal favorite War film Platoon (1986). I have never seen him in anything recent and it was a delight to see him on top form as the corporate bad guy who is also the godfather of the subject of Inception played by Cillian Murphy.
Inception is proof that blockbuster and art can be the same thing. I listed it as the sixth best film of 2010.
I will give this film 4/4 stars. This was my review of Inception and you can get all my reviews via Blogspot.
Inception is proof that blockbuster and art can be the same thing. I listed it as the sixth best film of 2010.
I will give this film 4/4 stars. This was my review of Inception and you can get all my reviews via Blogspot.
Monday 11 April 2011
Fierce Creatures (1997)
A lot of people seem to mistake this film for being a sequel to A Fish Called Wanda (1988), but it is indeed a follow up or as Kevin Kline called it, an Equal. A Fish Called Wanda was an immense success and it happens to be one of my favourite films because it is just to good to be ignored. But this film would produce an equal named Fierce Creatures. The name Fierce Creatures comes from the name of a Monty Python sketch written by Michael Palin and Terry Jones (Michael Palin and John Cleese being the only members of Monty Python to star in both of these films).
In 1996, John Cleese hired directors Fred Schepisi and Robert Young to direct the film Fierce Creatures which Cleese had written shortly after A Fish Called Wanda. When the film was released in cinemas in 1997, nearly most of the people and critics who saw it were disappointed with the film as it just didn't make anyone amused or interested because it wasn't nearly as funny as A Fish Called Wanda.
Fierce Creatures is a story about a New Zealand Businessman named Rod McCain (Kevin Kline) (a metaphor for Rupert Murdoch) who purchases a zoo named Marwood (based on Marwell Zoo in Hampshire, United Kingdom but is named after John Marwood Cleese) in London, England. The corporation that McCain owns Octopus Inc., requires it's investments to return 20% of the profits it earns to Octopus and if it doesn't it is sold or put on the scrapheap. McCain hires a retired British Hong Kong Policeman (John Cleese) to run the zoo. When the policeman controls the zoo he insists that the zoo adopts the new "Fierce Creatures" policy in which only very lethal animals will be kept in the zoo to increase popularity and revenue. This plan fails as the zoo keepers protest in favour of running the zoo the way it was normally run in the past. A businesswoman from Octopus Inc. played by Jamie Lee Curtis and the businessman son of Rod McCain (also Kevin Kline) quickly take control of the zoo with disastrous results.
When I first saw this film, my first impression was that it was not going to be as impressive as A Fish Called Wanda. I then saw it and thought to myself, should this film have called itself Fierce Creatures because we only see the moment of the Fierce Creatures within the space of half an hour and then it disappears with the film degrading out of control as soon as Kevin Kline enters as the son of the New Zealand Buisnessman. This character that Kline plays has moments of laughs but in the end could be described as nothing more than stupidly pointless. This is because he never seems to be of some use to the film, he's not enjoyable to to watch because he tries to get laughs with this character but he makes this character somewhat unlikeable. John Cleese's role in this film is foolish in the extreme, mainly because he is to old to be playing his character and his parts that are meant to be laugh out loud for example, the scene when the younger McCain and Jamie Lee Curtis pay him a visit about the zoo, they seem to think that he is philandering around with more than one woman when in fact he is trying to keep more than one animal quiet in his bathroom. There was more than one character I liked in this film and unusually it was the Michael Palin Character, who keeps a tarantula named Terry (after member of Monty Python, Terry Jones) and Rod McCain. I liked the Michael Palin Character because unlike A Fish Called Wanda where Palin played a stutterer who could not speak, he plays a chatterbox who does not shut up and there are some very amusing scenes with him. The character of Rod McCain was enjoyable because he insults virtually everyone around him and it is funny to see when he is usually on the phone closing down another enterprise and also getting the rights for China's public executions.
Fierce Creatures in a nutshell is a worn out, tiresome film that I think has destroyed a part of John Cleese and Kevin Kline's as they have not been in anything better after this film. It certainly was as good as I thought it might be.
I will give Fierce Creatures 2/4 stars. This was the count and you can see all my reviews via Reviews from the Count on Blogspot.
Wednesday 6 April 2011
First Film Review by the Count: Grindhouse (2007.dir.Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez)
The definition of the term "Grindhouse" is that of an old rundown American cinema that would usually show exploitation/horror films with extreme sexual content from the 1970's to early 1980's. Examples of such films include The Last House on the Left and Cannibal Holocaust both of which have managed to gain cult status with fans worldwide. The Grindhouse cinemas suddenly just disappeared in the middle of the 1980's and were completely forgotten about for nearly 22 years. This was because people were completely shocked by the extremeness of the films shown. But let's face the facts, they were terrible films with the exception of The Last House on the Left. In the United Kingdom, some Hammer Horror Productions were shown in our equivalent of a Grindhouse known as a Fleapit.
Now for my review. In 2007 the film Grindhouse was set up by film director Quentin Tarantino who is a known fan of Grindhouse Cinema as well as other genres of films like Spaghetti Westerns and Hong Kong Action Cinema. Tarantino teamed with Spaghetti Western film director Robert Rodriguez, to have two films and some fake trailers for films that don't exist, all to be put into one long massive explosive homage/tribute to Grindhouse. First would be director Robert Rodriguez' film Planet Terror and then Quentin Tarantino's film Death Proof followed by the fake trailers in the middle. Both films were to be shot in the style of Grindhouse so the cinematography would be jumpy, scratchy and even a missing reel was in on purpose put in Planet Terror. Both films were box-office bombs and met with mixed critical reception.
Planet Terror involves a group of people who aim to escape a zombie plague which is caused when nearby Military officials accidently release a deadly toxin/gas that turns all the local townspeople into pus and blood ridden zombies who stop at nothing to kill people. Now that is pretty basic Grindhouse plot as usually there wouldn't be much plot to these films in the first place but let us not be mistaken this doesn't make it a very good film. The acting in this film does a lot to help itself because you have Bruce Willis playing the twisted Lieutenant and Naveen Andrews playing a sinister scientist who for some reason chops people's testicles off if they don't comply with him. There was only one actor who I thought was wasting his talent and I'm sad to say that it was Josh Brolin as the menacing doctor who treats the infected townspeople. Josh Brolin should know better than to than to star in this film while also proving his talent in No Country for Old Men in the same year. The best thing that anyone could say about Planet Terror is that is a very honest film because it doesn't release itself from it's premise which is trying to remain a successful tribute to Grindhouse with cheap wooden acting and being a badly written film. It's success is because it doesn't pretend to be something it isn't and I believe that Robert Rodriguez has created a good homage because it is for most people who were around back during Grindhouse, as if they were re-visiting the bad past but in a good way. It is neither a good film or a bad film but it carries out the mission employed by Tarantino.
On the other hand Quentin Tarantino's homage Death Proof is anything but an honest film. It's basic plot is about a sadist who goes around killing women with his allegedly "Death Proof " car. When I saw this film I couldn't actually mentally imagine how Quentin Tarantino the man who created Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction could drag himself down to this, a boring and confusing film with nothing that could be describe as honest or at least attempting to execute what had been Tarantino's initiative. Tarantino appears in the film briefly as a bartender but fails to deliver his lines as everyone else in the film talks like Quentin Tarantino which means that other actors are better at doing Quentin than Quentin is as himself. The Sadist is portrayed by Kurt Russell, a veteran actor famous for Escape from New York and Poseidon. Now funnily enough, Kurt Russell is not a bad actor and in Death Proof he gives a dark and quietly sinister performance as Stuntman Mike, the Sadist. I enjoyed watching Kurt Russell in this film but I really didn't care much for any of the rest. On terms of Honesty this film goes from Drama to Horror to Thriller and then descending into Action at the end where we have a large car chase completely ripped off from the film Vanishing Point. I suppose that Tarantino wants to use motives and themes from other films just to make his own films. This part I thought was the weakest end of Grindhouse.
If there was anything I did like out of the film it was the fake trailers. I thought that they were right in the style of Grindhouse Cinema because they looked just like what I had imagined or wanted to imagine right from the start. The trailers were for films that don't exist and they included: Machete, Don't, Thanksgiving and Werewolf Women of the SS. I was pleased to see that Don't was created by Edgar Wright whose films Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead I have treasured ever since I first saw them. Don't was just in the style of the Hammer productions being played in the British Fleapit. The rest were interesting apart from Werewolf Women of the SS which I thought was really letting the side down because of it's unrealism. Machete was constructed into a feature film in 2010 by Robert Rodriguez. Thanksgiving was another good piece of work by Eli Roth, the director of Hostel and Cabin Fever, however this does not make up for his work in Death Proof.
I will give Grindhouse 2/4 stars.
This was my review of Grindhouse and you catch all of the Count's reviews in due time.
Now for my review. In 2007 the film Grindhouse was set up by film director Quentin Tarantino who is a known fan of Grindhouse Cinema as well as other genres of films like Spaghetti Westerns and Hong Kong Action Cinema. Tarantino teamed with Spaghetti Western film director Robert Rodriguez, to have two films and some fake trailers for films that don't exist, all to be put into one long massive explosive homage/tribute to Grindhouse. First would be director Robert Rodriguez' film Planet Terror and then Quentin Tarantino's film Death Proof followed by the fake trailers in the middle. Both films were to be shot in the style of Grindhouse so the cinematography would be jumpy, scratchy and even a missing reel was in on purpose put in Planet Terror. Both films were box-office bombs and met with mixed critical reception.
Planet Terror involves a group of people who aim to escape a zombie plague which is caused when nearby Military officials accidently release a deadly toxin/gas that turns all the local townspeople into pus and blood ridden zombies who stop at nothing to kill people. Now that is pretty basic Grindhouse plot as usually there wouldn't be much plot to these films in the first place but let us not be mistaken this doesn't make it a very good film. The acting in this film does a lot to help itself because you have Bruce Willis playing the twisted Lieutenant and Naveen Andrews playing a sinister scientist who for some reason chops people's testicles off if they don't comply with him. There was only one actor who I thought was wasting his talent and I'm sad to say that it was Josh Brolin as the menacing doctor who treats the infected townspeople. Josh Brolin should know better than to than to star in this film while also proving his talent in No Country for Old Men in the same year. The best thing that anyone could say about Planet Terror is that is a very honest film because it doesn't release itself from it's premise which is trying to remain a successful tribute to Grindhouse with cheap wooden acting and being a badly written film. It's success is because it doesn't pretend to be something it isn't and I believe that Robert Rodriguez has created a good homage because it is for most people who were around back during Grindhouse, as if they were re-visiting the bad past but in a good way. It is neither a good film or a bad film but it carries out the mission employed by Tarantino.
On the other hand Quentin Tarantino's homage Death Proof is anything but an honest film. It's basic plot is about a sadist who goes around killing women with his allegedly "Death Proof " car. When I saw this film I couldn't actually mentally imagine how Quentin Tarantino the man who created Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction could drag himself down to this, a boring and confusing film with nothing that could be describe as honest or at least attempting to execute what had been Tarantino's initiative. Tarantino appears in the film briefly as a bartender but fails to deliver his lines as everyone else in the film talks like Quentin Tarantino which means that other actors are better at doing Quentin than Quentin is as himself. The Sadist is portrayed by Kurt Russell, a veteran actor famous for Escape from New York and Poseidon. Now funnily enough, Kurt Russell is not a bad actor and in Death Proof he gives a dark and quietly sinister performance as Stuntman Mike, the Sadist. I enjoyed watching Kurt Russell in this film but I really didn't care much for any of the rest. On terms of Honesty this film goes from Drama to Horror to Thriller and then descending into Action at the end where we have a large car chase completely ripped off from the film Vanishing Point. I suppose that Tarantino wants to use motives and themes from other films just to make his own films. This part I thought was the weakest end of Grindhouse.
If there was anything I did like out of the film it was the fake trailers. I thought that they were right in the style of Grindhouse Cinema because they looked just like what I had imagined or wanted to imagine right from the start. The trailers were for films that don't exist and they included: Machete, Don't, Thanksgiving and Werewolf Women of the SS. I was pleased to see that Don't was created by Edgar Wright whose films Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead I have treasured ever since I first saw them. Don't was just in the style of the Hammer productions being played in the British Fleapit. The rest were interesting apart from Werewolf Women of the SS which I thought was really letting the side down because of it's unrealism. Machete was constructed into a feature film in 2010 by Robert Rodriguez. Thanksgiving was another good piece of work by Eli Roth, the director of Hostel and Cabin Fever, however this does not make up for his work in Death Proof.
I will give Grindhouse 2/4 stars.
This was my review of Grindhouse and you catch all of the Count's reviews in due time.
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