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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
Wednesday, September 9, 2009

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Big Man Japan aka Dai-Nihonjin was one of the more brazen and outlandish comedies I’ve seen this decade and with Symbol, Hitoshi Matsumoto finally returns with more absurdity. Move aside Antichrist and Enter the Void as for those lucky enough to see it, Symbol will be the biggest “what the…” unpredictable head scratcher of 2009. This is my hunch at least. I do recommend not reading a single thing about this film and going into it as fresh as possible.

Be sure to catch it at Midnight Madness at TIFF (details).

INTRODUCTION:

“SYMBOL” is the second film by Japan’s best-known comic virtuoso, Hitoshi Matsumoto. It follows on the success of his first film “DAINIPPONJIN”, which was invited to the Directors Week of the 60th Cannes International Film Festival in 2007 and was lauded as the Festival’s “most individualistic work.” As was the case for “DAINIPPONJIN”, Matsumoto developed, directed and played the leading role in “SYMBOL” and co-wrote the script.

In “DAINIPPONJIN”, Matsumoto bypassed convention and applied an inventive approach of his own, resulting in an unfamiliar entertainment genre derived from the hero’s real and public image. The film succeeded through the exploration of the figure of the hero through Matsumoto’s worldview, utilizing a documentary film approach complete with reporting and interviews.

In his new film “SYMBOL”, Matsumoto builds further upon the tradition of comedy in an ambitious work that seeks to carry his sense of humor beyond cultural boundaries. He does this by not only constructing “SYMBOL” with the words of the story, but also by utilizing the “language” of imagery. As was the case for “DAINIPPONJIN”, “SYMBOL” covers deep philosophical ground, which under Matsumoto’s hand results in a unique film of tremendous impact.

Japanese Cinema Sites I Highly Recommend:
::: Jason Gray
::: Mark Schilling’s Tokyo Ramen
::: Midnight Eye
::: Nippon Cinema
::: Outcast Cinema
::: Ryuganji
::: Toronto J-Film Pow-Wow

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

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

The Daily Movie Wallpaper
Monday, September 7, 2009

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Kicking of the Austin Film Society series Censors, Drop Your Scissors! Billy Wilder’s Later Comedies is One, Two, Three (screening info) featuring James Cagney. I highly recommend every film in this magnificent series!

The look on James Cagney’s face in this still is so great. I’ve never rated scowls from actors but I think it would be easy to say he always found the right one for the right moment and never missed a beat or felt off.

Related Coverage:
::: Censors, Drop Your Scissors! Billy Wilder’s Later Comedies – Austin Film Society

Image Source:
Official still that were used in the original US release of the film.

Related Links:
::: IMDb Profile

The Daily Movie Wallpaper
Sunday, August 30, 2009

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Steven Spielberg has officially signed on to tackle remaking or putting this well loved play and film through his own particular vision. Tom Hanks seems like he would be the perfect Elwood P. Dowd and who could most easily walk in the shoes and shadow of James Stewart, which is no easy thing to do.

Caption:
Elwood P. Dowd (James Stewart) converses with Harvey, his invisible rabbit companion, at a neighborhood bar in this scene from Universal-International’s screen version of the play hit, “HARVEY.”

Image Source:
Official still that was used in the original international release of the film.

Related Links:
::: IMDb Profile