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The Daily Movie Wallpaper
Sunday, September 13, 2009

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The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus was one of the last movies I saw play at Cannes this year. Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits ranks as one of the most impressionable movies I saw as a kid that helped give me my great passionate affinity for the power and magic of cinema. Gilliam’s body of work is such that whatever he does I’m more than eager to check it out as was the case with this latest effort as word of mouth was very strong.

Heath Ledger turns in his most unique and soul searching performances to date. Coming off playing the Joker and perhaps recognizing how audiences perceive him, he goes in a completely different direction to really dive into the character of Tony and this story by Gilliam. He does anything but play it safe or try and walk ground we have seen him walk before which if nothing else will bring back his fans to watch this again and again.

Lily Cole and Christopher Plummer in particular I thought were exceptional and really help to give the effort more emotional attachment and energy.

The assemble cast that inhabits Ledger’s shoes are all interesting in their own ways but I think it would have been far better had Ledger been able to finish it and we have seen his complete character arc, which is a shame as I’ll always wonder how and where he would have taken Tony as the film raced towards its final act. Law, Farrell and Depp make the most of their screen time and their most to blend right in.

As I watched the first half of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus unfold I was completely surprised by how well everything came together and was into the film, its world and characters. When the effort moves into the second half and becomes incredibly manic and the revolving door of who plays Tony next really starts swinging open again and again, I just failed to connect with it. It’s an admirable effort at just what was able to be carved together yet this part feels to sprawling and out of control. It adds too much excess in its second half in an otherwise engaging tale. One or two more passes in the edit room and its second half excess trimmed out and this would be one of the years best and I’m really looking forward to seeing its updated cut at Sitges Film Festival. If I’ve learned anything from titles that played at Cannes is that post their showing there they are often re-cut or evolve into different prints that work far superior.

Image Source:
Official stills that were used in the original international release of the film.

Related Links:
::: IMDb Profile

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The Daily Movie Wallpaper
Friday, August 14, 2009

Freshly back in from having finally seen District 9 at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar. The lines wrapping around the building and crowds there to see it was pretty overwhelming and not to mention great seeing a first time filmmaker in Neill Blomkamp get this type of response. Not to mention earlier in the day all the shows for District 9 had already sold out. Seeing this reminded me of older days when a movie like Predator would come along and unless you wanted to wait in line several hours, forget about it. If you are going to try and see District 9 in Austin (South Lamar) this weekend you better buy your tickets way in advance.

I thought this movie was great science fiction. It’s really rough around the edges and its imperfections make it even more wonderfully unique. For a first time filmmaker under what seems like a 1/10th of a budget Hollywood makes similar budgets on this scale… Neill Blomkamp more than delivers. He also plays against convention of sci-fi vehicles of late in not trying over explain every aspect of the movie, if anything he leaves a hell of a lot of unanswered questions and rather intentionally so I would think. I noticed a couple of answers to key points already in the movie but many are blink and you will miss variety. The other interesting aspect of District 9 is that it doesn’t have the typical 3 act story, much more of a 2 act movie, which to me largely indicates this will ultimately be part of a trilogy (box office willing). And like others have said this movie is so good and done so well on its budget that whomever pulled the plug on Halo will go down in infamy.

Image Source:
Official stills that were used in the original international release of the film. © 2009 Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Related Links:
::: Official Site
::: IMDb Profile

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The Daily Movie Wallpaper
Wednesday, August 12, 2009

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The gun we see Sharlto Copley carrying here in District 9 I luckily have no idea how it works so I can be surprised when I see the film this Friday. It does look like something straight up out of of Halo though and I like how everything I’ve seen from this film has looked distinct which is no easy feet for a film with this tight of a budget.

Image Source:
Official stills that were used in the original international release of the film. © 2009 Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Related Links:
::: Official Site
::: IMDb Profile

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The Daily Movie Wallpaper
Tuesday, August 11, 2009

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The buzz for District 9 (opens this Friday) keeps building. I’m doing my best to try and avoid every trailer for the film so I can see it as fresh as possible. These images to date look great and hopefully aren’t giving much away!

Image Source:
Official stills that were used in the original international release of the film. © 2009 Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Related Links:
::: Official Site
::: IMDb Profile

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The Daily Movie Wallpaper
Monday, August 10, 2009

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District 9 opens this Friday and it looks great. Can’t wait to check this one out. The directors take on HALO might not ever be realized but you know the people that shot that down will be forever re-thinking that decision (Neill Blomkamp’s proof of concept for it here)

Image Source:
Official stills that were used in the original international release of the film. © 2009 Columbia TriStar Marketing Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Related Links:
::: Official Site
::: IMDb Profile