With few special effects, the film relies on the actors and plot to produce an eerie otherness, similar to Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. Shannon seems initially miscast as the desperate father, usually playing the villain, but is quite effective in the role and he is supported by an excellent cast, including Kirsten Dunst as Alton's mother. In an age of over-the-top sci-fi, it's refreshing to watch a film that prize's story over spectacle. Recommended.
Sunday 22 January 2017
Midnight Special
This is an odd science-fiction film from my Amazon subscription. Roy Tomlin (Michael Shannon) and his young son Alton (Jaeden Lieberher), accompanied by Roy's friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton), flee across the American South pursued by both the Government and the agents of a religious cult.
With few special effects, the film relies on the actors and plot to produce an eerie otherness, similar to Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. Shannon seems initially miscast as the desperate father, usually playing the villain, but is quite effective in the role and he is supported by an excellent cast, including Kirsten Dunst as Alton's mother. In an age of over-the-top sci-fi, it's refreshing to watch a film that prize's story over spectacle. Recommended.
With few special effects, the film relies on the actors and plot to produce an eerie otherness, similar to Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. Shannon seems initially miscast as the desperate father, usually playing the villain, but is quite effective in the role and he is supported by an excellent cast, including Kirsten Dunst as Alton's mother. In an age of over-the-top sci-fi, it's refreshing to watch a film that prize's story over spectacle. Recommended.
Sunday 15 January 2017
Cut The Rope 2
It's not often that I blog about games, but one I've been introduced to by my sister's grandson is the mildly addictive and infinitely charming Cut The Rope 2 by ZeptoLab, available online or for various mobile platforms. It centers around Om Nom, the tubby little green character and his attempt to find (and eat) swirly little sweets. You have to solve little physics puzzles to get him the sweets:
You can even get stickers and plush toys based on the game. Sweet!
You can even get stickers and plush toys based on the game. Sweet!
Thursday 12 January 2017
Look Back in Angora - Ed Wood and Hitchcock/Truffaut
(Sorry, but it was too good to resist). Two films about three directors from my Amazon subscription.
First up, Hitchcock/Truffaut. In 1962, the French new wave film director, François Truffaut, went to Hollywood to interview Alfred Hitchcock, who had just finished filming The Birds.
What appears at first to be a complete mismatch turns out to be something of an homage as Hitchcock films and techniques had been feted for some time by Truffaut and his collegues. The film details their initial conversation, and subsequent friendship until Hitchcock's death in 1980. Truffaut produced a book based on the interview and his analysis of the films and this influenced many later directors, including Wes Anderson and Martin Scorsese. The film, however, doesn't reveal much other than some basic details, understandable given the subject matter and that the opinions of other directors had to be included to give it a broader appeal. It's an interesting piece of cinema history, nontheless, and the book might be worth a read.
Next a film about a director driven to make movies despite a clear handicap (No, not the cross-dressing: the lack of talent). Ed Wood Jr. (Johnny Depp) inspired by Orson Welles to realise his own vision of the movie business, whatever it takes, struggles to find backers and encounters failed horror actor Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau)
Made with genuine warmth and sympathy about the subject matter, Tim Burton makes a classic Hollywood-on-Hollywood movie and in such a way that makes the weird and strange look normal, which may well be Hollywood. It compares well with Bowfinger, which has a similar subject matter.
First up, Hitchcock/Truffaut. In 1962, the French new wave film director, François Truffaut, went to Hollywood to interview Alfred Hitchcock, who had just finished filming The Birds.
What appears at first to be a complete mismatch turns out to be something of an homage as Hitchcock films and techniques had been feted for some time by Truffaut and his collegues. The film details their initial conversation, and subsequent friendship until Hitchcock's death in 1980. Truffaut produced a book based on the interview and his analysis of the films and this influenced many later directors, including Wes Anderson and Martin Scorsese. The film, however, doesn't reveal much other than some basic details, understandable given the subject matter and that the opinions of other directors had to be included to give it a broader appeal. It's an interesting piece of cinema history, nontheless, and the book might be worth a read.
Next a film about a director driven to make movies despite a clear handicap (No, not the cross-dressing: the lack of talent). Ed Wood Jr. (Johnny Depp) inspired by Orson Welles to realise his own vision of the movie business, whatever it takes, struggles to find backers and encounters failed horror actor Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau)
Made with genuine warmth and sympathy about the subject matter, Tim Burton makes a classic Hollywood-on-Hollywood movie and in such a way that makes the weird and strange look normal, which may well be Hollywood. It compares well with Bowfinger, which has a similar subject matter.
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