|
|
| Friday, September 24, 2004 01:01 PM |
| Sky of Blue, Screen of Green |
 by Fëanor |
A trip to the list will reveal (if you're keeping very careful track) the addition of two more films, both with rather long titles: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
Confessions was mouserobot's choice for movie night, and a fine choice it was. The movie is stuffed to bursting with crazy combinations of talent--directed by sometime actor George Clooney (his debut behind the camera) and written by crazed genius Charlie Kaufman, based on the wildly unlikely supposed autobiography of whacked out gameshow host Chuck Barris. It's surreal and violent and insane and quite touching and clever. Chuck is portrayed as a complete dick, who tromps all over the heart of pretty Penny (played by the inimitably cute and talented Drew Barrymore) for an hour or so before finally realizing how fantastic she is. I wanted to smack him. He even cheated on her. Cheated on Drew Barrymore!!!
Anyway, the film proposes the fantastic and yet strangely believable idea that Barris was secretly a hitman for the CIA, in between gameshow appearances. His fellow killers include Jennifer Julia Roberts (d'oh! Thanks, Sarcasmo) and the grizzled, fantastically under-appreciated and under-employed Rutger Hauer (whose character's name is, ridiculously, Keeler). Clooney must have called in a lot of favors or something, because plenty of other stars show up in bit parts, including Brad Pitt and Matt Damon (who both have far too many T's in their names, did you notice that?).
But I must get to Sky Captain. This movie is fantastic. It's not terribly smart or anything, and it doesn't give us insight into the human soul, but it is so much damn fun that I really don't care. As you probably could already tell from the commercials, it's a hymn to old movies and film serials, like Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers. It is also constantly alluding to and borrowing from earlier descendents of those serials, the Indiana Jones and Star Wars series (I'm pretty sure I even saw the number 1138 on the door of a scientist's lab; that's part of George Lucas's magic number, THX-1138, that he tends to incorporate into all his films), as well as King Kong and Godzilla. There's a scene on a mysterious island that involves people running from dinosaurs over a chasm bridged by a giant fallen tree that could have been lifted whole from that original monkey movie (btw, I'm so looking forward to Peter Jackson's version). And as for Godzilla, I think I saw his silhouette flash by during a newspaper montage, but I could be wrong. Anyway, the movie is full of giant monsters and robots; full of references and reminiscences.
Some people have complained that the special effects (which fill every single shot, as this was filmed entirely in front of a green screen and all of the sets were computer generated) look a bit clunky at times, and I agree, but I don't think that's a bad thing. I think the obviousness of the fakery becomes another part of the style of the film, hearkening back to the days when the rocket flying by was just a model on a stick. The film is awash in style, glowing with the slightly smoky, filtered light of times gone by--the world of tomorrow of yesterday. From the opening titles (which gave me a chill, they were so perfect) to the closing credits, from the editing to the lighting, from the acting to the dialogue, everything is suffused with that same classical, art deco, pulp style. It's a beautiful piece of work, a seamless recreation, a perfect dream of celluloid.
And it's loaded with fantastic chases, escapes, and explosions. There are characters here, too, which, though very familiar and perhaps not fully fleshed out, are nonetheless loveable and comfortable and serve their purpose. Are they stereotypes or archetypes? I'm not sure. But they are a lot of fun, like the rest of the movie, and that's all that really matters.
In other news, I have received a new game in the mail--"Betrayal at House on the Hill." (Damn, things get shipped here quickly! God bless the internet.) I am pretty darned excited. Excuse me while I go tear it open.
UPDATE: I forgot to mention, I'm really excited that this guy Kerry Conran, who wrote and directed Sky Captain, is supposedly going to be working on a film adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs's novel A Princess of Mars. His pulp, retro style will be perfect for a pulp sci fi novel-to-film translation.
Oh, and "Betrayal at House on the Hill" looks really cool, but there's a ton of little things that need to be punched out. Oh, who am I kidding. I love games with lots of little things, and I love to punch them out and organize them, because I'm a big nerd. [Imagine me snorting and pushing my glasses up my nose here.] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
