More TIFF reviews are still coming down the pipe, but for now let us welcome the return of the Movie Marketing Monday feature to this blog.
The Tourist
The Warrior’s Way
Showing posts with label Johnny Depp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Johnny Depp. Show all posts
Monday, October 11, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Who Is In Your Acting Dream Team?
Recently Anomalous Material brought together 27 movie bloggers to take part in a Hollywood Fantasy Draft. Over the course of 10 rounds, and several days, each blogger assembled their own film dream team. Below is the team I ended up with after the draft. Although I was near the bottom of the draft order I am very happy with the team I sekected. Now I just need to figure out roles for them all.
The Actors
What type of film would you make with this cast? Action flick? Comedy? Drama? Horror? Romance? Etc. Let me know in the comment section.
The Actors
Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Julianne Moore, Rosemary Dewitt, Denzel Washington, Salma Hayek, Don Cheadle, Charlotte Rambling, and Zooey Deschanel
The Director
Spike Jonze
Starting next Monday each participant will be sharing their movie ideas for their dream cast. Each day a new movie pitch will be featured on both the bloggers main website and the Anomalous Material website. At the end of the three weeks, all the pitches will be collected and featured in a special edition of Pitch the LAMB over at the Large Association of Movie Blogs.
What type of film would you make with this cast? Action flick? Comedy? Drama? Horror? Romance? Etc. Let me know in the comment section.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Alice's Land Left Me Wondering
Alice in Wonderland
Tim Burton is known for his surreal visuals and this film is no different. Alice in Wonderland’s greatest strength is the wonderful art direction and special effects. This is probably Burton's best looking film in years; even the minor details, such as the White Queen's soldiers having the heads of chess pieces, are a treat. If you exclude Stayne (Crispen Glover), who looks awkward in every scene he is in, it is tough to find fault with the outstanding visuals. The funny thing is, for a film that had such wonderful art direction, the 3D aspects were shockingly poor. I will not get on my usual soapbox about how 3D is a cash grab, as I have beating that horse to death. Regardless, I can easily see visual elements, like the seamless incorporation of the Cheshire Cat in many scenes, amazing audiences in either format.
Speaking of the Cheshire Cat, I thought Stephen Fry's voiceover work was near perfect. The same can also be said for Alan Rickman, who brings the Abosolom to life with a mystic charm. The interesting thing about Fry and Rickman's performances is how easily they steal scenes from the actors on screen. You know you have problems when the CGI characters are far more interesting than the human ones. Which brings me to one of the flaws with Alice in Wonderland; the film has too much talent and not enough use for them.
It is rare that you walk into a film starring Johnny Depp and walk away being more wowed by the supporting characters, like the aforementioned Fry and Rickman, yet that is exactly what happens here. While I liked the darker tone that Depp gave the Mad Hatter, his overall performance was surprisingly dull. I understand that Depp is trying to find a balance between exploring the root of Hatter’s madness and being the comic relief; but he often falls short on both parts. At times it felt like Johnny Depp was merely channeling the Scottish cousin of his Willy Wonka character from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The difference being that the Mad Hatter’s often mumbles large chunks of his dialogue. At first I thought I was merely burned out by the Depp/Burton pairing as this is the fourth straight film they have done together, and eighth film in total. Then I realized that even the new players to Tim Burton's world were not fairing much better.
Mia Wasikowska is a serviceable but ultimately forgettable Alice. Even when she final raises up and embraces her female independence, which the entire film is building towards, it does not carry the weight it should. We should be cheering Alice along her journey yet I found myself caring less about what happened to her as the film went along. I will say that Wasikowska was much better than Anne Hathaway, as she at least had things to do. Anne Hathaway, on the other hand, had to suffer through a painfully awkward performance as the White Queen. Hathaway serves no real purpose in the film other than to be the embodiment of good. Since the White Queen has sworn not to hurt a living thing, she is merely glides around all day with her dainty hands in the air. It is shame to see such a talented actress like Hathaway take on such a meaningless role.
The only on screen actor that really seems to fit the tone of the film is Helena Bonham Carter. As the Red Queen, Carter is a delight to watch in her small role. In a few short scenes she conveys a queen who is both ruthless and desperately in need of acceptance. If you take away Helena’s performance there is no other human character that really generates any interest. Alice’s family and friends are mere footnotes to the overall picture.
While the art direction, and a few key performances, keeps Alice in Wonderland afloat; the film, in the end, is much ado about nothing. Tim Burton’s version of the source material creates a beautiful but hollow world, which is probably why Alice found it so forgettable in the first place.
Based on Lewis Carroll's two stories, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, as well as his poem "Jabberwocky", Tim Burton's latest film, Alice in Wonderland, is not short on source material...although it often feels that way at times. In this latest version of the classic story, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is 19 years-old who is tormented by the same recurring nightmare, of a strange land, since she was young girl. On the same day Alice receives a marriage proposal, from a man whom Alice does not love, she sees a strangely dress White Rabbit (Martin Sheen) scampering around in the garden. While chasing the rabbit Alice stumbles into a hole that transports her to the magical Wonderland. Alice has no recollection of the place, which she first visited when she was a child, and thinks it is all a dream. Yet the inhabitants of Wonderland, including the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), desperately need Alice to regain her memory. It has been foretold that Alice will dethrone the ruthless Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) by defeating the beast known as the Jabberwocky (Christopher Lee). Once the Jabberwocky is destroyed, the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) can resume her rightful place as the true ruler of Wonderland.
Tim Burton is known for his surreal visuals and this film is no different. Alice in Wonderland’s greatest strength is the wonderful art direction and special effects. This is probably Burton's best looking film in years; even the minor details, such as the White Queen's soldiers having the heads of chess pieces, are a treat. If you exclude Stayne (Crispen Glover), who looks awkward in every scene he is in, it is tough to find fault with the outstanding visuals. The funny thing is, for a film that had such wonderful art direction, the 3D aspects were shockingly poor. I will not get on my usual soapbox about how 3D is a cash grab, as I have beating that horse to death. Regardless, I can easily see visual elements, like the seamless incorporation of the Cheshire Cat in many scenes, amazing audiences in either format.
Speaking of the Cheshire Cat, I thought Stephen Fry's voiceover work was near perfect. The same can also be said for Alan Rickman, who brings the Abosolom to life with a mystic charm. The interesting thing about Fry and Rickman's performances is how easily they steal scenes from the actors on screen. You know you have problems when the CGI characters are far more interesting than the human ones. Which brings me to one of the flaws with Alice in Wonderland; the film has too much talent and not enough use for them.
It is rare that you walk into a film starring Johnny Depp and walk away being more wowed by the supporting characters, like the aforementioned Fry and Rickman, yet that is exactly what happens here. While I liked the darker tone that Depp gave the Mad Hatter, his overall performance was surprisingly dull. I understand that Depp is trying to find a balance between exploring the root of Hatter’s madness and being the comic relief; but he often falls short on both parts. At times it felt like Johnny Depp was merely channeling the Scottish cousin of his Willy Wonka character from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The difference being that the Mad Hatter’s often mumbles large chunks of his dialogue. At first I thought I was merely burned out by the Depp/Burton pairing as this is the fourth straight film they have done together, and eighth film in total. Then I realized that even the new players to Tim Burton's world were not fairing much better.
Mia Wasikowska is a serviceable but ultimately forgettable Alice. Even when she final raises up and embraces her female independence, which the entire film is building towards, it does not carry the weight it should. We should be cheering Alice along her journey yet I found myself caring less about what happened to her as the film went along. I will say that Wasikowska was much better than Anne Hathaway, as she at least had things to do. Anne Hathaway, on the other hand, had to suffer through a painfully awkward performance as the White Queen. Hathaway serves no real purpose in the film other than to be the embodiment of good. Since the White Queen has sworn not to hurt a living thing, she is merely glides around all day with her dainty hands in the air. It is shame to see such a talented actress like Hathaway take on such a meaningless role.
The only on screen actor that really seems to fit the tone of the film is Helena Bonham Carter. As the Red Queen, Carter is a delight to watch in her small role. In a few short scenes she conveys a queen who is both ruthless and desperately in need of acceptance. If you take away Helena’s performance there is no other human character that really generates any interest. Alice’s family and friends are mere footnotes to the overall picture.
While the art direction, and a few key performances, keeps Alice in Wonderland afloat; the film, in the end, is much ado about nothing. Tim Burton’s version of the source material creates a beautiful but hollow world, which is probably why Alice found it so forgettable in the first place.
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Doctor’s Imaginary Medicine Easy To Swallow
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
More often than not when a great actor passes away their last works tend to be clunkers. The most famous example of this is Raul Julia who died just before Street Fighter was released. Marlon Brando had the misfortune to have his two final releases be the awful The Island of Dr. Moreau and the forgettable, The Score. Fortunately, through Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, one recently deceased actor was lucky enough to avoid this trend.
After making a bet with the devil, Mr. Nick (Tom Waits), Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) wins the gift of immortality. Several years later Mr. Nick and Dr. Parnassus make another bet that would ultimately save the life of Parnassus’ one true love. Unfortunately for Dr. Parnassus this bet comes at a grave price as he must give up his first born child, Valentina (Lily Cole), to Mr. Nick upon her 16th birthday. Now on the eve of Valentina’s sweet sixteen, Dr. Parnassus and Mr. Nick decide to make one more bet that may either save Valentina or damn her forever. The bet is simple, Dr. Parnassus must convert five souls through his mystical "imaginarium" travelling show before Mr. Nick converts five souls. Dr. Parnassus knows that the devil always has a trick up his sleeve; which is why Parnassus is intrigued when his troupe of performers randomly comes across Tony (Health Ledger). Is Tony a gift from above? Or is Dr. Parnassus about to take his riskiest bet yet?
It has been well documented that The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus features Heath Ledger‘s final performance. It is also well known that Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp, and Jude Law were asked to fill in for Health in certain scenes. What may come as a shock is how seamlessly Gilliam injects the three actors into the story. Since most of the non-imaginarium scenes were shot prior to Health’s death, Farrell and crew are only needed for the fantasy sequences. Once you see the film, and understand the limitless possibilities of the imaginarium, the change in actors will make perfect sense.
Director Terry Gilliam does a good job at keeping the film grounded in reality despite all of its fantastical moments. This film is far better than his last two pictures, The Brothers Grimm and Tideland, though not as strong as some of his earlier works. It is apparent that Gilliam really took time to ensure that the acting matched the level of the visuals. The two performances that deserver the most praise are the ones given by Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits. Sure Health is charming as ever, but it is Plummer and Wait who really make this film a treat. Waits in particular does a great job as the devil, you can see how easily a man like Dr. Parnassus could be swayed by his deceitful charm.
The one major flaw with the film is the imaginarium scenes with Farrell in the third act. I found the whole sequence from the children’s benefit gala up to the stairs chase scenes just went on far too long. The film really needed tighter editing towards the end. Still, despite the somber event that ultimately surrounded the filming, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is an enjoyable ride that is a fitting final chapter to Health Ledger’s canon of work.
More often than not when a great actor passes away their last works tend to be clunkers. The most famous example of this is Raul Julia who died just before Street Fighter was released. Marlon Brando had the misfortune to have his two final releases be the awful The Island of Dr. Moreau and the forgettable, The Score. Fortunately, through Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, one recently deceased actor was lucky enough to avoid this trend. After making a bet with the devil, Mr. Nick (Tom Waits), Dr. Parnassus (Christopher Plummer) wins the gift of immortality. Several years later Mr. Nick and Dr. Parnassus make another bet that would ultimately save the life of Parnassus’ one true love. Unfortunately for Dr. Parnassus this bet comes at a grave price as he must give up his first born child, Valentina (Lily Cole), to Mr. Nick upon her 16th birthday. Now on the eve of Valentina’s sweet sixteen, Dr. Parnassus and Mr. Nick decide to make one more bet that may either save Valentina or damn her forever. The bet is simple, Dr. Parnassus must convert five souls through his mystical "imaginarium" travelling show before Mr. Nick converts five souls. Dr. Parnassus knows that the devil always has a trick up his sleeve; which is why Parnassus is intrigued when his troupe of performers randomly comes across Tony (Health Ledger). Is Tony a gift from above? Or is Dr. Parnassus about to take his riskiest bet yet?
It has been well documented that The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus features Heath Ledger‘s final performance. It is also well known that Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp, and Jude Law were asked to fill in for Health in certain scenes. What may come as a shock is how seamlessly Gilliam injects the three actors into the story. Since most of the non-imaginarium scenes were shot prior to Health’s death, Farrell and crew are only needed for the fantasy sequences. Once you see the film, and understand the limitless possibilities of the imaginarium, the change in actors will make perfect sense.
Director Terry Gilliam does a good job at keeping the film grounded in reality despite all of its fantastical moments. This film is far better than his last two pictures, The Brothers Grimm and Tideland, though not as strong as some of his earlier works. It is apparent that Gilliam really took time to ensure that the acting matched the level of the visuals. The two performances that deserver the most praise are the ones given by Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits. Sure Health is charming as ever, but it is Plummer and Wait who really make this film a treat. Waits in particular does a great job as the devil, you can see how easily a man like Dr. Parnassus could be swayed by his deceitful charm.
The one major flaw with the film is the imaginarium scenes with Farrell in the third act. I found the whole sequence from the children’s benefit gala up to the stairs chase scenes just went on far too long. The film really needed tighter editing towards the end. Still, despite the somber event that ultimately surrounded the filming, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is an enjoyable ride that is a fitting final chapter to Health Ledger’s canon of work.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Enemies Make Feud Public
Public Enemies
The story of Robin Hood has always been appealing on tale. The idea of someone taking from the wealthy and giving to the poor does have a nice ring to it, especially in this current economy. Yet is it way he swoops in and steals the money? Or is Robin Hood himself that makes the tale interesting? These questions crossed my mind while watching Michael Mann's Public Enemies.
Set during the fourth year of the Great Depression, crime is on the rise and notorious bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) is making a mockery of the law. Fed up with Dillinger's antics, the Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup), assigns agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) to lead a task force to bring John Dillinger to justice once and for all. Purvis soon realizes that capturing Dillinger will be much harder than both he and Hoover had ever expected it to be. Dillinger shows no signs of slowing down nor does he have any weaknesses. Of course this may all change after he meets the Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard).
Though he kept everything he stole Dillinger was still viewed as the Robin Hood of his time. Dillinger became a symbol for those suffering through the Great Depression . Yet the Depression merely serves as a backdrop for the film as Mann is more interested in the various ways Dillinger robbed banks and broke of jail. While these moments were very entertaining to watch, by time the film ended, I could not help but wonder how much did I actually learn about any of the parties involved? Clearly John Dillinger was a charismatic criminal who had the intelligence needed to get away with what he did. Yet after the jail break scene, and the scene were the cops pass him in the car, you have to question whether Dillinger truly was a genius? Or were the cops just really dumb?
Since Mann opts not to delve too deep into his characters we only get glimpses of what makes the characters tick. This is most evident when you look at Bale's Melvin Purvis, who really gets short changed in this picture. Purvis is clearly way over his head when he is promoted but we rarely see how the pursuit affects him emotionally. This ultimately diminishes the impact of what happens to him at the end of the film. Also, Mann does not provide Bale room to truly showcase his range. Purvis is a rather one-note character throughout the entire film. Despite Purvis' many errors and his inner turmoil, Mann portrays him mainly as the hard stoic agent. Bale would have been much more interesting in the film had he been able to show more of the cracks within Purvis' wall.
Aside the limitations set on Bale , the majority of the cast does a decent job of breathing life into their characters. Depp and Cotillard are the standouts in the picture as there scenes together offer a nice break from the standard cops and robber stuff. Despite the lack of depth, Mann does create a film that is, if nothing else, fairly entertaining. All the trademark Mann element's are there: the handheld video shots, the elaborate shootout sequences etc. Although Public Enemies is not as spectacular as I hoped it would be, it was entertaining enough for a mild recommendation.
The story of Robin Hood has always been appealing on tale. The idea of someone taking from the wealthy and giving to the poor does have a nice ring to it, especially in this current economy. Yet is it way he swoops in and steals the money? Or is Robin Hood himself that makes the tale interesting? These questions crossed my mind while watching Michael Mann's Public Enemies. Set during the fourth year of the Great Depression, crime is on the rise and notorious bank robber John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) is making a mockery of the law. Fed up with Dillinger's antics, the Director of the FBI, J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup), assigns agent Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale) to lead a task force to bring John Dillinger to justice once and for all. Purvis soon realizes that capturing Dillinger will be much harder than both he and Hoover had ever expected it to be. Dillinger shows no signs of slowing down nor does he have any weaknesses. Of course this may all change after he meets the Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard).
Though he kept everything he stole Dillinger was still viewed as the Robin Hood of his time. Dillinger became a symbol for those suffering through the Great Depression . Yet the Depression merely serves as a backdrop for the film as Mann is more interested in the various ways Dillinger robbed banks and broke of jail. While these moments were very entertaining to watch, by time the film ended, I could not help but wonder how much did I actually learn about any of the parties involved? Clearly John Dillinger was a charismatic criminal who had the intelligence needed to get away with what he did. Yet after the jail break scene, and the scene were the cops pass him in the car, you have to question whether Dillinger truly was a genius? Or were the cops just really dumb?
Since Mann opts not to delve too deep into his characters we only get glimpses of what makes the characters tick. This is most evident when you look at Bale's Melvin Purvis, who really gets short changed in this picture. Purvis is clearly way over his head when he is promoted but we rarely see how the pursuit affects him emotionally. This ultimately diminishes the impact of what happens to him at the end of the film. Also, Mann does not provide Bale room to truly showcase his range. Purvis is a rather one-note character throughout the entire film. Despite Purvis' many errors and his inner turmoil, Mann portrays him mainly as the hard stoic agent. Bale would have been much more interesting in the film had he been able to show more of the cracks within Purvis' wall.
Aside the limitations set on Bale , the majority of the cast does a decent job of breathing life into their characters. Depp and Cotillard are the standouts in the picture as there scenes together offer a nice break from the standard cops and robber stuff. Despite the lack of depth, Mann does create a film that is, if nothing else, fairly entertaining. All the trademark Mann element's are there: the handheld video shots, the elaborate shootout sequences etc. Although Public Enemies is not as spectacular as I hoped it would be, it was entertaining enough for a mild recommendation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)