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Mar. 9th, 2006 03:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
uberreinigerSeen some good movies recently
Mirrormask: Rented this one a few nights ago. Written by wildy popular and talented novelist Neil Gaiman, directed by stunning Surrealist artist Dave McKean, and animated by the talent at Jim Henson Co. this is one incredibly gorgeous, fun film which deserved a much wider theatrical release. A reviewer on IMDB described it as a Labyrinth for the 21st century and I can't think of a better way to put it. The story goes like this: a teenage girl embittered with her life as part of her parents' travelling circus has a bitter argument with her mother one night before a performance. Her mother falls gravely ill that same night, leaving the girl wracked with guilt, the circus's future in jeopardy, and her relationship with her father cracking under the strain. These problems get pushed aside, however, when she wakes up one night to find herself in a deteriorating fantasyland which she must set out on a quest to rescue. Yet in her absence, someone or something seems determined to further undermine her life back home.
This movie is one of the biggest treats for the eyes you'll ever see. Words can't do it justice. The Henson folks have outdone themselves, taking McKean's physiologically impossible creatures which could never exist and turning them into believeable human beings. Gaiman's writing takes the tattered old "young heroine and her scruffy companions on a quest to save the world" fairy tale formula and gives it new breath. Frankly, it took me back to the era of films like Labyrinth and The Neverending Story where fantasy films were done right and directors knew that children's films didn't need to be dumbed down for the kids or filled with low-key blue humor for the adults.
The one big complaint I see people make about Mirrormask is it's rather straightforward Alice In Wonderland-style story. And the story is that. But if that's a story you can actually get tired of, well, all I can say is I feel sorry for you. That's like being able to get tired of Star Wars, an unforgiveable crime.
Night Watch: Blockbuster action/fantasy/horror film from Russia, the first of a trilogy which is apparently revitalizing Russia's domestic film industry as we speak. Night Watch has a storyline made very familiar in recent years by franchises such as The Matrix, Blade, and Underworld: Super-powered forces of Good and Evil wage a nightly battle for the fate of mankind in a dystopic urban setting, only us mere humans must never, ever know about it. However, Night Watch is praiseworthy and worth seeing for taking quite a few conventions of the genre and setting them on their ear. For starters, unlike its forerunners, the setting is dirty. It's the genre's grubby, lived-in Star Wars to the Matrix's clean, pristine Star Trek. The filmmakers pull no punches regarding the run-down state of 21st century Moscow. This extends to the characters too. All characters receive sexy Matrix-issue sunglasses, but beyond that there's not a leather trench coat or black catsuit in sight. The heroic Night Watch tactical team go monster-hunting in dingy grey jumpsuits. Meanwhile, the supreme ruler of the Armies of Darkness dresses like a homeless person and likes to while away the hours leading up to the imminent Apocalypse playing games on his Playstation 2.
For another thing, you won't see a lot of wirework kung-fu here. Instead, they opt for cut scenes and fast pans to get the sense of hyperkinetic violence across. And it works better, I think. Wirework kung-fu is gorgeous to look at, but the camera tricks employed here are definately the right choice for Night Watch's grim, dreary setting. That's not to say the film lacks in the special effects department. It doesn't. But it chooses to employ them in very inventive ways. (Who would have thought that a shot of a metal rivet falling through the air could be so... riveting?) Even the subtitles get swept up in the action from time to time.
Night Watch is definately a film for the big screen, but you'll probably need access to an art house theatre to see it. It's worth the effort though for an inventive film where heroes vomit blood on unsuspecting cops and vampires obtain permits to hunt humans the safe, legal way.
Mirrormask: Rented this one a few nights ago. Written by wildy popular and talented novelist Neil Gaiman, directed by stunning Surrealist artist Dave McKean, and animated by the talent at Jim Henson Co. this is one incredibly gorgeous, fun film which deserved a much wider theatrical release. A reviewer on IMDB described it as a Labyrinth for the 21st century and I can't think of a better way to put it. The story goes like this: a teenage girl embittered with her life as part of her parents' travelling circus has a bitter argument with her mother one night before a performance. Her mother falls gravely ill that same night, leaving the girl wracked with guilt, the circus's future in jeopardy, and her relationship with her father cracking under the strain. These problems get pushed aside, however, when she wakes up one night to find herself in a deteriorating fantasyland which she must set out on a quest to rescue. Yet in her absence, someone or something seems determined to further undermine her life back home.
This movie is one of the biggest treats for the eyes you'll ever see. Words can't do it justice. The Henson folks have outdone themselves, taking McKean's physiologically impossible creatures which could never exist and turning them into believeable human beings. Gaiman's writing takes the tattered old "young heroine and her scruffy companions on a quest to save the world" fairy tale formula and gives it new breath. Frankly, it took me back to the era of films like Labyrinth and The Neverending Story where fantasy films were done right and directors knew that children's films didn't need to be dumbed down for the kids or filled with low-key blue humor for the adults.
The one big complaint I see people make about Mirrormask is it's rather straightforward Alice In Wonderland-style story. And the story is that. But if that's a story you can actually get tired of, well, all I can say is I feel sorry for you. That's like being able to get tired of Star Wars, an unforgiveable crime.
Night Watch: Blockbuster action/fantasy/horror film from Russia, the first of a trilogy which is apparently revitalizing Russia's domestic film industry as we speak. Night Watch has a storyline made very familiar in recent years by franchises such as The Matrix, Blade, and Underworld: Super-powered forces of Good and Evil wage a nightly battle for the fate of mankind in a dystopic urban setting, only us mere humans must never, ever know about it. However, Night Watch is praiseworthy and worth seeing for taking quite a few conventions of the genre and setting them on their ear. For starters, unlike its forerunners, the setting is dirty. It's the genre's grubby, lived-in Star Wars to the Matrix's clean, pristine Star Trek. The filmmakers pull no punches regarding the run-down state of 21st century Moscow. This extends to the characters too. All characters receive sexy Matrix-issue sunglasses, but beyond that there's not a leather trench coat or black catsuit in sight. The heroic Night Watch tactical team go monster-hunting in dingy grey jumpsuits. Meanwhile, the supreme ruler of the Armies of Darkness dresses like a homeless person and likes to while away the hours leading up to the imminent Apocalypse playing games on his Playstation 2.
For another thing, you won't see a lot of wirework kung-fu here. Instead, they opt for cut scenes and fast pans to get the sense of hyperkinetic violence across. And it works better, I think. Wirework kung-fu is gorgeous to look at, but the camera tricks employed here are definately the right choice for Night Watch's grim, dreary setting. That's not to say the film lacks in the special effects department. It doesn't. But it chooses to employ them in very inventive ways. (Who would have thought that a shot of a metal rivet falling through the air could be so... riveting?) Even the subtitles get swept up in the action from time to time.
Night Watch is definately a film for the big screen, but you'll probably need access to an art house theatre to see it. It's worth the effort though for an inventive film where heroes vomit blood on unsuspecting cops and vampires obtain permits to hunt humans the safe, legal way.
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Date: 2006-03-09 10:52 am (UTC)although i would disagree with you on one thing--i don't find Neil Gaiman to be all that talented of a novelist. With the exception of Good Omens (which was co-penned by the absolutely always fantastic writer Terry Pratchett), they all see pretty cliched stories that write like a ho-hum fantasy movies, or worse--fantasy tv shows. I've heard his graphic novels are quality, though i've never read any of them so I can't comment on that.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-09 01:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-09 10:04 pm (UTC)I get the impression that Gaiman's always better when he works with someone on something.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-10 06:30 am (UTC)I guess in a way it makes the book a resounding success, that whether you love it or hate it, it always provokes a strong reaction.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-09 01:34 pm (UTC)Any other recommendations are always welcome:)
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Date: 2006-03-09 02:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-09 02:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-09 05:31 pm (UTC)You are lucky the donkeys begged for the clemency of you both and that I am a merciful god.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-09 06:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-09 06:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-10 06:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-09 02:23 pm (UTC)Anyway...
It makes me happy to see the Henson's doing good work and makes me happy for the new Dark Crystal sequel as opposed to fearing its disneyification.
I think the main issue with Mirrormask, as it was Gaiman's lower budget and darker, but very similarly themed and plotted Neverwhere, is that it is too British for most Americans... or at least the studios seem to think so.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-09 05:04 pm (UTC)I also found moments that made me think of Neverwhere. It was like a Neverwhere for kids, substituting teen angst for the midlife crisis.
**spoiler alert**
Date: 2006-03-09 02:30 pm (UTC)Gonna post my insights about Nightwatch, WHICH CONTAIN SPOILERS (though probably not anything plot related) at my cave. Go ahead. Clicky on the name thingy above. You know you want to...
no subject
Date: 2006-03-09 06:51 pm (UTC)I generally avoid horror films because too many of the movies that were popular when I was younger relied on gore to sell their stories, and I never was much for that. May have to check this one out, as I've heard many good things.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-10 06:39 am (UTC)Turns out I've been seeing McKean's artwork for years. I just never knew his name before. I'm actually surprised by the amount of whimsy that went into Mirrormask's design given that many of his paintings are quite menacing and unpleasant.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-09 07:17 pm (UTC)Mirrormask was indeed a fantastic film, though. Despite the low budget, every single frame of that movie could be ripped out and smacked on a wall as art. I loved it.
no subject
Date: 2006-03-10 06:33 am (UTC)