Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

Only Lovers Left Alive (2013)

Director: Jim Jarmusch  

Cast: Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Anton Yelchin, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt

Jim Jarmusch is not the kind of filmmaker that will appeal to everyone because his films are deliberately slow paced, which if you’re in the right mood could be just what the doctor ordered. In my case, Only Lovers Left Alive was exactly the kind of movie I was looking for. You see, this film is populated with mellow characters in no rush to blow anything up or save the universe. Quite the contrary, these guys are basking in their mellowness, and I dug that. It’s a change of pace. Sometimes, modern films seem to be in some sort of rush, like a child who suffers from ADD, always in search for the next big rush. Yes my friends, there’s no denying that today’s audiences are junkies of the rush. But here’s Jim Jarmusch wanting to teach us once again that slowing things down can actually be a cool thing, let’s get retrospective, let’s think about things, let's analyze. 

Only Lovers Left Alive is the story of Adam and Eve, two vampires who are extremely cultured and ancient, they know a lot about everything, their clothes are hundreds of years old. Eve has hundreds of ancient books and is an expert in literature and speed reads everything while Adam is an expert musician who wants to remain anonymous, hiding away from fame. These two vampires are married, but have been living so long that they don’t need to live together. Adam lives his rock and roll life style in Detroit Michigan while Eve lives in Tangiers, Morocco. Their lives are reunited when Adam reveals to Eve that he’s depressed with humanity. She detects his depression, so she flies to him, both reuniting in Detroit. Can these two vampires survive in our modern decaying society?

What I liked about this movie is how Jarmusch uses the vampires eternity to criticize humanity. You see these vampires have seen so many facets of humanity that they can comment, with an all encompassing point of view about where we are now as a race.  They've seen us go through the inquisitions, through hitler, through everything, they've seen Galileo and Tesla suffer for their knowledge, they know just how much cruelty we are capable of, because they've seen it. In a way, so have we because we can read a history book, we can all look back at humanities mistakes and learn from them and evolve, but it seems we are inclined more towards repeating our mistakes then growing above them. I love how both vampires simply drive around Detroit during the night, they see all these abandoned buildings and factories and say “it’s like everybody left”. I gots to tell you my dear readers, I sometimes feel the same way about my own city. So many businesses closed down, so many abandoned buildings, you can see the urban decay taking over. The city is rotting away. It’s life, sucked away. So of course, I connected with these vampires, driving around a decaying city in ruins. Reminiscing about where it all went and if its ever gonna come back.

These vampires are pretty cool, they are so cultured, they remind me of how I wish I could spend eternity, reading books and listening to cool music, just chilling the hell out, when these guys drink their blood, it’s not unlike smoking a dooby or drinking your favorite poison. How cool are these vampires? Well, they hang out with William Shakespeare, who by the way is also a vampire! Ha, awesome. They eat blood popsicles and hang out in rock and roll bars. They wear glasses at night. The only thing is that the state of humanity brings them down. Adam can’t believe how humanity has managed to not only poison their water supply but their own blood as well. He wonders if humanity is still fighting about oil and when the water wars will begin. These guys philosophize about everything, I dug it. Swinton and Hiddleston have great chemistry together, they sold me the part of these two vampires in love throughout the ages. But overall, the cast is awesome, including John Hurt playing an aging vampire Shakespeare.

Jarmusch filmed on location in some awesome looking places, for example, he actually shot in Detroit, a city that is actually in decay. Huge buildings that use to be factories now look like ghosts, haunting a dying city, Jarmusch captured it all beautifully, made all the more dark and brooding because most of the film takes place late at night, when the vampires hang out. Morocco adds a completely different type of background, with beautiful vistas of a completely different type of society. They go to Morocco escaping the masses, escaping humanity whom they appropriately call “zombies”. Watching this film you kind of get the idea that humanity is in the brink of some huge cataclysmic change, like the world will soon turn, like that famous worm that turns when provoked enough. That idea that the world is somehow pushing us to return to an animalistic state of being, like the out of control world we live in is calling out our animal instincts, and pretty soon we won’t be able to hold back. Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive is thought provoking, romantic and sexy. In a lot of ways, Only Lovers Left Alive reminded me of this offbeat, obscure vampire film called Blood & Donuts (1995), because of this weird mood that it elicits, this weird aura that only comes from films that take place during the wee hours of the night, the small hours when the creatures of the night emerge. I recommend this film if you want to see something sultry, a film that slows things down to the pace of blood ebbing down a vampires throat.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

Title: Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)

Director: Michael Radford

Cast: John Hurt, Suzanna Hamilton, Richard Burton

Review:

1984 remains a monumental piece of literature that everyone should read at least once in their lives. For those who haven’t had the experience of reading George Orwell’s 1984 I’ll give you the lowdown. This was a novel written way back in 1949 as a cautionary tale; a “what if” of what could happen to our collective and individual freedoms should a totalitarian government arise. This was Orwell looking into the future and seeing a very grim, cold and impersonal society. Oceania is a society devoid of emotions, individuality and freedom. In this future, everyone dresses the same colors, children rat out their parents should they betray the government and big brother (read: the government) is always watching you, they know what your saying, they know what your doing, they are in your home, Big Brother dominates the lives of the people of Oceania. Be it through the huge television screen that everyone has in their homes, or by hidden cameras and microphones, Big Brother knows. In this future there is such a thing as a ‘thought crime’ and a government ruled organization created to deal with them called the ‘thought police’. Basically, in this world, you are not allowed to speak your mind, oh and sex is a crime, you can only have sex if you are married and even then, it’s to have children; not for pleasure. 1984 was a novel written to warn us of what we should never allow our countries or governments to become. Sad part is that many of the things that happen in this novel and are meant to be considered horrid abuses of human rights are actively happening in our modern world.

Mind control at full force! 

Over the years, Orwell’s book has proven to be prophetic. How is Orwell’s novel slowly becoming a reality? Let’s see, we can start by mentioning that ‘Big Brother’ is watching over us all the time. We do have video cameras constantly surveying us, watching us, documenting our behavior. We have devices that can pinpoint our exact location. We all have huge television screens in our homes (they get bigger every year) which the media uses to manipulate public opinion. Many news channels display the faces of the current political enemies and make the masses hate and despise them, same as the ‘two minutes of hate’ that appear in the book and film. These two minutes of hate are two minutes in which political enemies of Oceania are displayed by the government on huge screens so that the proletariat (the working class) can scream and hate them.  At one moment Winston says “There is truth and there is untruth, to be in the minority of one does not make you mad” a statement that makes perfect sense in this world we live in; by this I mean that in our society, whenever you think differently for example by not being patriotic or  not believing in god or religion, well, then to the rest of society your just a nut job, a loon. The idea behind this statement is that just because you are in the minority does not mean you are wrong. Sadly, this is what happens in the world we live in, if you’re not thinking with the collective then you’re a conspiracy nut, or a crazy.

Even though we live in a slightly ‘liberal’ society, sex before marriage is still frowned upon by the grand majority of the population; the desire to have sex is something that comes naturally from within us, yet religions seek to dampen our sexualities, demonize them by calling sex before marriage a ‘sin’ same as in the world of 1984 where sex is a crime!  The beautiful thing about 1984 is that the love that Winston and Julia develop for each other is genuine; they truly do love each other. They enjoy each others warmth and company, where pray tell is the crime in that? Same as in Bernardo  Bertolucci’s The Dreamers (1999), sex can become the ultimate act of revolution, the ultimate expression of freedom; it’s the one thing that the system cannot take away from you, the love, the affection, the warmth. In other words, the things that makes us human. And remaining human is a big part of 1984, it’s at the very core of it. Winston himself says it: “It’s not so much about staying alive, it’s staying human that’s important. What count’s is that we don’t betray each other.” “If they can make me change my feelings, if they can stop me from loving you, that would be betrayal” to which Julia answers: “They can’t do that. It’s the one thing they can’t do. They can torture you, they can make you say anything, but they can’t make you believe it. They can’t get inside you. They can’t get to your heart”  

Amongst other themes the film plays with, Nineteen Eighty Four is primarily about being able to speak your mind and say the truth about things, it’s about freedom of the mind, of being able to tell it like it is. To say that 2 + 2 = 4 and not 5. It’s about the ability to have control over your own mind, to say what you want to say without fear. Are we living in a world in which you can do that? Because if we’re not, then we’re living in Orwell’s nightmarish totalitarian future, and it’s come true. But then again if this is what is actually happening, and we’re living the nightmare, way back in 1949, Orwell knew it would happen. He said it with his novel. He’d seen the future and he knew what it was going to be like. “If you want a vision of the future, Winston, imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever” That line of dialog is so gut wrenching, yet so true. How many times have we not seen government stomping, no worse, killing, murdering their people? So yeah, 1984 was prophetic in deed.

The film itself is a marvelous adaptation of Orwell’s book. It captures the essence, the mood and the overall vibe that Orwell created in his masterwork. The film has a slightly decolorized look to it, reflecting the dreary lives and world in which these characters live in. John Hurt perfectly embodies Winston Smith, the epitome of the blue collar worker, working day by day to pay his way in life, which isn’t much of a life. It’s boring and redundant, so much so that he thirsts desperately for something more; he hates what his life has become. He wants passion and freedom; two things that can make anyone feel alive. Richard Burton did his last film performance here, he died before the film was premiered, but his portrayal of O’Brien, the government operative, is chilling and memorable one, so cold, so robotic. Between film and book there are very few differences…some moments from the book where left out and I do feel that the ending was a bit more grueling in the book, but the film gets its points across as well, just not as detailed and extended as in the book. Still, I’d say that this is an excellent adaptation, which is something that rarely happens in the book to film transition.

So folks, we’re talking about an important book and film here, I highly recommend everyone out there to read the book and then see this film. It’s one of my favorite books, it actually brought me to tears while reading it, its that good. Not many books have that effect on me, but this one really got to me. How influential is this novel in the film world? Well, I can mention some of the films that were influenced by it for example: V for Vendetta (2005), Brazil (1985), Equilibrium (2002) and THX-1138 (1971) to mention but a few. For more on films of this nature, check out this article I wrote a while back called Totalitarian Futures (Big Brother is Watching You!) In the end, though Nineteen Eighty-Four is sad and torturous to watch at points because of how strongly we feel the systems boot stomping on humanities face, the film does have an inspiring message. That evil will fail, that humanity will prevail, someway, somehow, goodness will win in the end, let’s hope that Orwell's novel was equally prophetic with these words as well.    

Rating for both the book and the film: 5 out of 5

Alien (1979)

Title: Alien (1979)

Director: Ridley Scott 

Cast: Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Tom Skerritt, Harry Dean Stanton, Ian Holm, Veronica Cartwright, Yaphet Kotto

Review: 

Alien is what this Film Connoisseur calls a perfect film, not a single thing is wrong with it, every single moment, frame, shot, performance, effect is top notch perfect. Without a doubt, one of the greatest science fiction films ever made which is why I am excited as hell for Ridley Scott's Prometheus (2012). Why am I excited for Prometheus? Well, let me count the ways. First off, Prometheus marks Ridley Scott's return to science fiction, a genre he hasn't revisited since he made Blade Runner (1982) all those years ago. The thing about Ridley Scott is that he's the kind of director who likes jumping from genre to genre. He'll do a sci-fi, he'll do a sword and sandal, he'll do a chick flick, he'll do a period film, a war film...you name it, and Scott has visited that genre. One of the few genres he hasn't done is a western, but I bet if he did a western, he'd do the best damn western you'll ever see. And thats the thing about Scott, whatever the genre he is tackling, you can rest assure that he will do it justice. You can rest assured that the film he is working on will be a good representation of the kind of film he is making. For example, look at Legend (1985) Scotts foray into the realm of fantasy films. Without a doubt, one of the best fantasy films ever made. So yeah, of course I am jizzing in my pants over Prometheus premiering next week. The previews let me see that I wont be dissapointed. It just looks like it will blow my mind, I hope that it will. Scratch that, I'm damn near sure it will, it's a rare occassion when Ridley Scott dissapoints with a film. So all things considered, I thought it would be a good idea to revisit Alien, the film that started the highly successful Alien franchise, and the film that directly connects to Prometheus. 

Prometheus will finally shine some light on this dead aliens origins

Alien is all about these space miners traveling back home on their spaceship 'The Nostromo'.  They are ready to kick back, relax and take that ten month journey to earth. Who knows, maybe they'll even get a bonus. Unfortunately, along their treck home they come across a beacon from a nearby planet. What could it be? Is it a distress signal? Where is it coming from? Wayland Yutani, the corporate monster that pays these space miners, sends them to investigate the alien planet with the insentive that they'll get a share of whatever they find. Could it be an alien spaceship? Could this be humanities first encounter with a lifeform other than themselves? 

Weaver plays Ripley, the heroine of these films

This film has many good things going for it. I love it because I am enamored of films that take place in the deep recesses of space. I've always loved this setting for a film because it alienates the human from its home planet, it creates an isolated environment which is the perfect mix for a horror film. And yes, make no mistake, Alien is a horror film, which makes it all the more interesting because I believe it's the one and only horror film that Ridley Scott has ever made, and again, it's a damn good one. Its a damn perfect horror film actually. How perfect is it? Well, I've seen this movie many, many times over and there are these moments in the film that still get me no matter how many times I've seen it. The suspense can be cut with a knife. Ridley Scott really knew how to orchestrate a film that would scare the pants off off anyone who saw it; which is why I'm also looking forward to Prometheus. Scott has gone down saying that all he wants to do is scare the pants off his audience and I'm looking forward to that! Especially when it's such a masterful director doing it. 

Ridley Scott was 40 when he made Alien

But what elements make Alien such a perfect blend of science fiction and horror? Well, the talent behind this film is astonishing to say the least. The people involved in it were some of the best writers, artists and filmmakers the world had to offer. First up, Dan O'Bannon wrote the film. Dan O Bannon wasn't just any old writer, this was a guy who knew the horror genre, he knew science fiction films in and out. He was a geek supreme; he knew what was cool, what worked. For example, one of Dan O Bannon's first forays into filmmaking was a little indy sci-fi film called Dark Star (1974). Don't know how many of you guys out there have seen Dark Star, but it was John Carpenter's first full length film. It's not the best film ever made, but it showed promise. Is the film horrifying? Is it trying to be funny? I still dont know exactly how to define it. To me Dark Star was simply a group of hungry, yet extremely creative people testing their filmmaking skills for the first time, trying out this filmmaking thing. The results are amusing, but obviously very low brow, very low budget. The monster on that film was a beach ball for christ sake! You have to see it to understand what I'm talking about. Ultimately, Dan O Bannon wasn't too satisfied with the resulting film, but this was a good thing, because it's what propelled him to write and have a burning desire to make a serious, more threatening science fiction film. He was going to make sure that the creature on his next science fiction film was not a beach ball. This burning desire to make a more convincing and horrifying villain is probably what gave birth to one of the greatest monsters in all of filmdom: the alien. The result of O'Bannon's frustrations was a screenplay called 'Star Beast', ultimately, O'Bannon himself changed it to 'Alien' because of how many times the word Alien appeared on the script. And so, the first steps towards getting Alien made had been taken. 

H.R. Giger's 'Necrom IV' the painting that decided how the titular alien was going to look 

But it wasnt just Dan O'Bannon's excelent script that made Alien a winner. The conceptual artists behind the film where some of the best science fiction/fantasy artists to ever walk the face of the earth. I'm talking about Jean Giraud a.k.a. 'Moebius' and the always excentric and down right creepy fantasy artists known as H.R. Giger. Ridley Scott was worried about how the alien would look, it was one of the few things that truly worried him during pre-production for the film, but once he saw H.R. Giger's painting known as ' Necrom IV', he knew his worries were over. He immediately contacted Giger and asked him to work directly in the design of the Alien, the results where nothing short of memorable. Giger even designed the interiors of the alien spaceship! While Giger worked on the creature designs, Giraud contributed with the look of other elements onthe film. Giraud's style is present on the Nostromo's many hallways and the spacesuits that the miners use. Giraud was a great asset to this films set designs and art direction. Moebius was a true visionary, he never stopped drawing fantasy and science fiction. He contributed on many film projects; for example, he was responsible for the look of Luc Besson's The Fifth Element (1997), the look of the glowing suits in TRON (1982). He worked a bit on Masters of the Universe (1987) a film that looks a whole lot better than it should thanks to Giraud's contributions. Point is, whatever film he was working on, you could rest assured that it was going to look that much more unique and interesting, he was going to make it a better film simply because of his involvement. Sadly, this hero of mine recently died on March 10, 2012. He left a lasting mark on the art world, and on many of the films he helped create. Just remember, whenever you see those cool looking suits and spaceships on Alien, that's Jean Giraud's contributions to the film. The mechanical creatures built to bring the alien to life where constructed by the legendary Carlo Rambaldi, the guy behind such creations as E.T. The Extraterrestrial (1982) and the giant sandworms of Dune (1984). So I think it's safe to say we had a powerhouse creative crew behind this film. Topple that with the fact that Ridley Scott was behind the camera and you got yourselves a masterpiece my friends. 

Jean Giraud contributed largely to the look of the film

So yeah, we had an incredible group of creative geniuses behind this film. Whenever any film gathers such an amazing group of individuals, you can be sure that the film is going to be something special. And Alien turned out to be just that. It was a huge financial success, it spawned three direct sequels and two spin off films which pitted the Aliens vs. the Predators from the Predator films. Comic books, video games, toys have all been made based on the film, and lets not forget the many rip offs that this film spawned! Dont believe me? Well, heres a couple of films influenced by Alien, check them out and tell me if I'm not right: Leviathan (1989), Galaxy of Terror (1981), Outland (1981), Inseminoid (1981), Creature (1985), Star Crystal (1986) and the Italian Rip Offs (we couldn't leave those out now could we?) Contamination (1980) and Alien 2: On Earth (1980). And that's just the tip of the iceberg, Alien influenced many more films then the ones I've just mentioned. Whenever a film impacts the film world in this world, it means it's made an impression on people, it means that it's not just any film, but a special film, and this my friends is what Alien is, a special film that still manages to spook and amaze with it's pitch perfect suspense and astounding visuals. Ridley Scott amassed this amazing amount of talent for this film because he himself is an artist, a visionary. Many of the shots on this film could be paintings, you could just freeze frame these and put them on your wall, which makes Alien not just a sci-fi/horror film, but a work of art. Each film in the Alien franchise is special for its own different reasons, different directors have brought their unique visions of this universe, the result is an interesting bunch of films, but with Prometheus, Scott is returning to the universe he helped create which is why I'm so looking forward to seeing it. Look forward for my review of Prometheus in the coming weeks, hopefully it will be another genre defining film, from a director who loves wowing us, and as far as I'm concerned still has the capacity and creativity to do it. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

This moment still gets me ever single time I watch the film! 

Melancholia (2011)

Title: Melancholia (2011)

Director: Lars Von Trier

Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, John Hurt, Alexander Skarsgard, Stellan Skarsgard, Udo Kier

Review:

Director Lars Von Trier’s films always have this acid, depressive, sad outlook on life. Ever seen Antichrist (2009)? If you haven’t seen it yet, let me tell you, it’s an overdose of sadness and despair. I mean look at Von Trier’s latest film: Melancholia; the title says it all actually. The word melancholia refers to a form of abnormal sadness, sadness so deep that it can become a form of insanity. And Melancholia is just that; two hours of pure unadulterated sadness, and that’s fine by me because when you really stop to think about it, how sad is life on this planet? How truly sad are the conditions under which our society lives in? I mean, yes, many things can cause us happiness, many moments can bring us joy, but when we look at the big picture, when we look at how the world is being run, it is a sad, depressive state of affairs.

In Melancholia we meet two sisters: Justine and Claire. Justine has just gotten married and she is on her way to her wedding reception. On the surface, she seems happy, the way every bride should be. At first it seems that nothing can destroy the happiness between the happy couple. But as the evening progresses, it becomes quite evident that Justine isn’t happy at all, in fact she is the opposite, depressed beyond belief. Will she be able to go through with this night? With the responsibilities expected of her after marriage? What is really bringing Justine down so much? Claire, Justine’s older sister is trying to keep Justine’s emotions under control, but it seems nothing can control Justine’s gloom and doom. At the same time, a giant planet called Melancholia is headed straight towards us, and apparently will completely obliterate Planet Earth. Will Melancholia destroy us, or will it pass us by?

So yeah, I was blown away by this movie, yeah its constant sadness can be a bit overwhelming at times, but I have to admit there’s a meaning behind the sadness, a reason for it. And when we analyze the root of the sadness, it is completely merited. Let’s see, greed is swallowing humanity whole, children die of hunger every day. There is such a thing as child slavery in our modern world. Most of us think we aren’t slaves, that slavery is something of the past, but is it? The masses are being lied to, and really, when we get down to it, how much of what we hold to be true, really isn’t? How many people live under the assumption that everything they’ve been taught is true, when in fact it isn’t? How unfair and selfish are governments? How selfish are the rich and powerful? How much more could humanity be doing to improve life on this planet so that everyone can be happy? Why must one class rule over the other? Why can’t we all just live happily in this world? Why do we give such importance to trivial things that don’t really matter? How sad is it that we are being programmed to consume by the media? How much of what we see and read on the news is a lie? I mean…so many things can make it sad to live on this planet. The ideas that this film transmits are very true, in general, things on this planet can make anyone extremely sad. Melancholia really explores the idea that when we “wake up”, that when we get to know how this world is really being run, when we truly open our eyes and see how things really are, the truth of it all can make you bitter and sad.

This film sends a big “fuck you” to all the bullshit; and excuse my French, but this is exactly what the film does. This is exactly what Von Trier is saying. The film does this by using marriage as a starting point to analyze humanity and the things we choose to give importance to. In the film, during Justine’s wedding reception, when everyone has to say something nice to the Bride and Groom, Justine’s mother stands up and says “I don’t believe in marriage, so enjoy it while it lasts, which won’t be long”, which is a brutally honest comment on marriage. Why do you need to sign a piece of paper to be in love with someone? Do you really need to go through this whole legal process to bind your life to another especially when it’s supposed to be “forever”? I’ve always thought marriage can be a huge farce because most of the time, five years later, people can’t stand each other. I've always thought that life is so mutable, so ever changing that committing to something "forever" is really saying a lie. Most of the time what happens is that couples get bored with each other. So then they have kids and complicate the inevitable break up that will come anyways. I’ve recorded a couple of weddings (something I do on the side) and every time they get to the part where they promise themselves forever, I think “yeah right”. I mean, yeah it’s a beautiful thought to be able to live through life with the same person forever, and kudos to those who achieve it and are truly happy, but it’s almost a fairy tale like idea, and fairytales are far from reality. The reality is that most couples will end up getting divorced in less than five years. And what about all the rituals you go through during the actual marriage? At one point, Justine’s mother gets away from the reception and when someone tries to find her she tells them to “fuck off with your stupid traditions!” What the film is trying to say is that it’s all insignificant and pointless when we take in consideration the issues that should really matter in life; the bigger issues that we should all be aiming to improve on collectively, instead of worrying about old traditions and trivial things that really don’t matter in the end.

The question the film asks is, would it matter if humanity was suddenly obliterated from existence? Doesn’t humanities evil warrant its destruction? I’m a realist when it comes to things of this nature. I know how evil man can be. I know how evil man is being right now as I type this, but I choose to be hopeful. I choose to be of the ones who holds on to the idea that humanity will one day get past all these age old hang ups and mature. That one day, after all these lessons we’ve learned through the ages, that we will all want the best for all of us. That greed will one day dissipate, that we will find a way for all of us to be happy on this huge spaceship called earth. Wishful thinking? I hope not, because if these ideas are all just wishful thinking, if humanity will stay stuck in a never ending circle of evil, then I will have to be just as sad and melancholic as Kirsten Dunst’s character on this film. Her sadness reaches such lengths that she cant even move her legs to walk, it is so powerful that even her favorite food tastes bad. Her sadness totally engulfs her; melancholic is the perfect way to describe her. Justine, her sister, is the opposite. She tries to see everything in a positive way. She tries to help her sister, aiding her through her despair. I thought it was interesting how both sisters represented different ways of seeing the world. Justine sees things for what they are, and Claire represents the more idealistic way of looking at things, which isn’t always the most realistic way of seeing things.

The cast is a superb one; I was amazed at how much talent was up there on the screen. Kirsten Dunst looks absolutely stunning on this film. I think most guys out there will agree after seeing this film that Kirsten Dunst has one of the most amazing bodies in Hollywood, a true beauty. Her performance bares all, it is a very vulnerable and sincere performance, I loved it. Deep down inside she hates humanity and everything it has come to represent. She feels a greater connection with the universe, which she loves to gaze at, and nature. At one point she simply chooses to sit naked in the middle of the forest and look at the stars. The symbolisms being that she wants to disconnect from everything and just be totally free. Charlote Gainsbourg, who can now be considered a Von Trier regular (she also starred in Von Trier’s Antichrist) plays the idealist, the polar opposite of Justine. In many ways, she’s the kind of person who wants to turn a blind eye to the way things really are and chooses to see things in an idealistic, albeit unrealistic way. Though the are sisters and care for each other, they are really very different people. Kiefer Sutherland also plays the idealist. I was glad to see him in a film that is actually good; and not in crap like Mirrors (2008). John Hurt plays Justine’s father, a playful and happy man who laughs at life and enjoys not taking things too seriously, which I felt a connection with. Udo Kier made me laugh as the wedding planner, a small role, yet Kier is one of the few “funny” things about the film. All in all, an amazing cast.    

      

Some might find this film to be a bit difficult to sit through because of its constant sadness, but hey, what can you expect from a film called Melancholia or for that matter,  a film from director Lars Von Trier? True, the film is filled with gloom and doom, but Von Trier balances it all out with gorgeous visuals, beautiful cinematography and settings. I also enjoyed the fact that even though this is a film about “the end of the world” so to speak, it focuses on a more personal story. If this film had been directed by say Michael Bay, it would have been all about meteorites destroying buildings and cars exploding and chaos on the city streets, but on Von Trier’s hands, this film is about a rich family who lives in an isolated mansion, far away from the masses. The last moments of this film are truly gripping, and the film has one of the best endings I’ve ever seen on any movie, truly gripping. You’ll feel that you got front row sits to the end of the world! Kudos to Von Trier, that ending left me gasping. This film would have certainly been on my “Best of 2011” list had I seen it when I wrote the list, but alas, I saw it after. Still, just make believe I put it on there because it truly was one of the best of the year. 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Immortals (2011)

Title: Immortals (2011)

Director: Tarsem Singh Dhandwar

Cast: Henry Cavill, Mickey Pinto, Freida Pinto, Stephen Dorff, John Hurt

Review:

Immortals, the latest Tarsem Singh visual fest is the big fantasy film we’ve all been waiting for. It’s the film that that crappy Clash of the Titans (2010) remake should have been. Here’s a director how knows how to make a film based on Greek Mythology and he knows how to do it right! All you really need to know is that this is a Tarsem Singh film, the same director behind such visually arresting films as The Cell (2000) and The Fall (2006). Tarsem’s Immortals is so visually rich, that one viewing will probably not be enough to absorb everything it has to offer. I was thoroughly impressed with Immortals, I wasn’t expecting it to be such an explosion of coolness. I was expecting a film that was going to be mostly eye candy (and it was) but damn, Immortals was just pure awesomeness.

Story presents us with the tale of Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) the King of Crete. Hyperion hates the gods for not saving his wife and son from death, so he makes it his mission to find the Epirus Bow, a magical bow created by Ares, the God of War. His intentions are to release these evil gods called ‘The Titans’ who are imprisoned on Mount Tartarus. With the release of these evil Gods, Hyperion wants to kill Zeus and the rest of the gods so that he can rule over the world with an iron fist. Meanwhile Theseus, a slave and a bastard lives in a humble coastal town. Sadly, said town is being invaded by Hyperion’s armies which continue to take over every piece of land they comes across.. Theseus’s mother is slaughtered by Hyperion right before his eyes. Now it’s up to Theseus to avenge his mothers death and bring his people to freedom! Will he accept his destiny and achieve his full potential?

While watching Immortals I kept feeling like I was watching a sequel to Clash of the Titans (1981) or something, it had that feeling of grandeur that the original Clash of the Titans had. And I kept thinking that Tarsem should have been the director to make that Clash of the Titans remake, because this guy really gets Greek Mythology, he knows where to draw from in order to get things right. He knows how NOT to make ‘The Greek Gods’ come off as cheesy superheroes. Immortals will undoubtedly, get compared to the old Ray Harryhausen fantasy flicks from the 60’s and 70’s and it will also draw comparisons to Zack Snyder’s 300 (2007) for two reasons. One, they share the same producers and two the way they were made; meaning lots of CGI, with only the actors, props and certain sets being real. Truth be told, this is the best  kind of film for filmmakers to go crazy with CGI on. Tarsem takes full advantage of special effects at his disposal and gives us some truly spectacular visuals. The kind of visuals you will only get on a Tarsem film. The computer generated images on this production are top notch, the colors, amazing. I highly recommend this film for many reasons, but the biggest one is that it’s a beauty to look at. The effects, the colors, the wardrobe all add up to an impressive looking film.

The themes played out in the movie are varied, for example we follow Theseus, a slave who has excellent warrior skills because he’s been trained by Zeus himself. With his character we follow two themes, that of revenge (for his murdered mother) and that of becoming the leader of his people, of waking up, staying alive and rising up to the challenge of going up against the ultimate evil, an evil that is rising yet again after being  dormant for such a long time. So basically, it’s that idea of learning to believe in ourselves, and living up to our full potential. Of becoming the best human beings we can. Because maybe then, by arriving at our fullest potential, we’ll have the Gods on our side, backing us up. Then we have the story of the evil tyrant taking over the land. King Hyperion (played by Mickey Rourke) is hell bent on world domination, even going up against the gods themselves in order to do so. Through him we explore the ideas of an evil government mistreating its people, and that of a rebellious leader - the one most fit for the job- taking the rains of leadership and standing up against the tyranny. There’s a bit of a religious debate as well. Are their gods really listening to our prayers? Or do our prayers fall on mute ears? Do the gods want us to take care of ourselves, so that we can really show our worth? Interesting themes in deed.

But this is not a film lost in characters endlessly babbling, nope, this is an extremely fast paced film. Something spectacular is happening all the time on this one, if it’s not Gods coming down from Mount Olympus to intervene in human affairs, then it’s the humans killing themselves in bloody battles and trust me, the battles get really graphic! This is something that amazed me about this one! When someone gets impaled by a sword or a spear, you really see it; the camera does not cut away. When someone is decapitated or his head is smashed by a war hammer, you will see it! Human bodies are tossed left and right, skulls are smashed, eyes are gauged…things get ugly! Tarsem slows things down during the battle scenes so that you can see the blood flowing and the bodies and skulls being cut in half! These scenes are the ones that will garner Immortals comparisons to 300, but Immortals is gorier with it’s battle sequences. And by the way, I didn’t see it 3-D because the 3-D version was starting much later, but you can bet your asses I’ll be seeing it again this weekend, with the glasses on this time! From what I hear, Immortals is meant to be enjoyed in Three Dimensions! And if what I saw in 2-D is any indication, than those comments are true.

Finally, it was cool to see Henry Cavill in action. All I kept thinking was how he’s the next actor who will be playing Superman and how perfect he is for the role of ‘The Last Son of Krypton’, a great casting choice. The ending of this film leaves the doors wide open for a sequel and though Tarsem is not a director known for making sequels, I wouldn’t mind seeing a second Immortals film. At all! In fact, a sequel is probably a done deal, judging by how much I enjoyed this film, The Film Connoisseur predicts that Immortals will become a huge hit over the next couple of days. And that will probably happen because of strong word of mouth. Once people see this movie, and word spreads around of how awesome it is; Immortals can only go up. Currently, Tarsem is directing a film called Mirror, Mirror which is a retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. I’m looking forward to seeing how Tarsem tackles a Brothers Grimm fairytale, I’m sure it will be another visual feast! So anyhow, drop what ever you are doing right now and go watch this one! This is the best fantasy film to have come in a long time, and it does not disappoint. Trust me when I say that this one was meant to be enjoyed on the silver screen.

Rating: 5 out of 5