« October 2008 | Main | December 2008 »
From pornos to princesses ... To keep things interesting for you all, I've asked my good friend and huge cinephile Sarah (AKA Filmknitter) to blog on her Favourite Movie of All Time, The Princess Bride. She recently introduced me to it and I would certainly stand by her endorsement of it as being a lovely family film. With Christmas and all things warm and fluffy on the horizon it seems only right to celebrate films that we love, and Sarah's commentary below definitely fits the bill - thanks!
'The Princess Bride is one of my all-time favourite movies. Since my first viewing in my early teens I have been pretty much obsessed with it, I can quote from the script at length, I wrote my GCSE English coursework on it, I created a fan-site when I was about 15 (now, sadly, no more), ‘Buttercup87’ remains my internet name on various forums and message-boards, I would have had it on my name-badge as my favourite film when I worked at the cinema but at the time I was too cool to be walking around with a badge proudly proclaiming that I was ‘Sarah – The Princess Bride’. Instead I went for Fellowship of the Ring, and the badge-manufacturers spelt it wrong. That taught me! Anyway, yes, so this has been my favourite film for nigh on a decade now and there are no signs that I will grow out of it any time soon. With every re-watching I appreciate it more, I sigh over Westley’s lovely hair, I laugh at Fezzik’s silly rhymes, I gasp at the skill of the fencing match on the treacherous Cliffs of Insanity, I bore my fellow watchers with random facts about the actors and the movie…
The truth is that The Princess Bride is the perfect family film, as Grandpa (Peter Falk) tells us at the start of the film it has fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles… It’s become a cult classic, beloved of children, students, parents, grandparents and anyone who likes a good yarn really. It’s based on an equally brilliant book, by William Goldman, which is well worth a read if you like the film as it contains much more detail such as Fezzik and Inigo’s back stories, the name of Buttercup’s horse, the details of the quest for the miracle pill to revive Westley; and the sequences with the lightning-sand and The Machine are even more scary and intense than they are in the movie. It’s basically a fairy tale – Westley (Cary Elwes) and Buttercup (Robin Wright) meet on her father’s farm, fall in love and Westley leaves to seek his fortune on the high-seas. Not long afterwards Buttercup hears that Westley’s ship has been attacked by the Dread-Pirate Roberts and she is consumed by grief. She eventually consents to marry the evil Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon), ruler of the land, though she does not love him. However, before the wedding can take place she is kidnapped by three ‘lost circus performers’: Vizzini (Wallace Shawn) – the brains of the outfit, Fezzik (Andre the Giant) – a giant, providing the brute strength, and Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin) – a master of the blade who has no gift for strategy and has fallen in with Vizzini to pay the bills. These three criminals have been hired by blood-thirsty Prince Humperdinck to start a war with Gilder, the country across the sea. They escape Gilder with Buttercup in tow, but before they get too far they realise they are being followed by a mysterious man in black, who turns out to be none other than the Dread-Pirate Roberts. Besting Inigo’s magnificent fencing skills, and beating Fezzikat hand-to-hand fighting, he also outsmarts Vizzini and takes the princess for himself. As he drags her towards the nightmarish fireswamp, with Humperdinck and his crony Count Rugen (Christopher Guest) in hot pursuit, we realize that all is not as it seems and before the end of the film we have been privy to a fight with an oversized rodent, some horrendous torture, another round of grief from Buttercup, the drying-out of an inebriated Inigo, a miracle from a huffy miracle man, a duel to revenge the death of Inigo’s father, a wedding service conducted by Peter Cook sporting an amusing speech-impediment, a holocaust cloak being used to devastating effect, and, finally, a happy ending.
Despite being over 21 years old now this film has stood the test of time excellently; sure the Grandson’s computer game looks a little out of date these days, but the jokes are as sharp, the sentiment as poignant and the fight scenes as exciting as they were in ‘87. Even the minor special effects haven’t dated too much thanks to the fact that there is no CGI used. The main reason this film has lasted so well, in my opinion, is thanks to Goldman’s screenplay. It’s endlessly quotable, here are some of my favourites:
Vizzini: He didn't fall? Inconceivable!
Inigo: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Fezzik: You be careful. People in masks cannot be trusted.
Dread Pirate Roberts: You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my sword and we'll try and kill each other like civilized people?
Dread Pirate Roberts: Look, are you just fiddling around with me or what? Dread Pirate Roberts: I'm no one to be trifled with. That is all you ever need know.
Westley: Ha! Your pig fiance is too late.
Valerie: Liar! Liar! Liar!
Miracle Max: Get back, witch!
Valerie: I'm not a witch, I'm your wife, but after what you just said, I'm not even sure I want to be that anymore.
Fezzik: The dread pirate Roberts is here for your souls!
Inigo: Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
Westley: I'll explain. And I'll use small words so that you'll be sure to understand, you warthog-faced buffoon. Useful for any situation, I think you’ll find.
In summary I adore this film. I’m a big fan of fairytales and traditional story-telling and I love the way Goldman pokes fun at the very conventions he makes use of. Admittedly the humour in the book is a little more knowing and wry, and the film is toned down and the characters made more generic, but the bonus with the film is the brilliant cast that really bring them to life. I still have a massive crush on Cary Elwes, despite the fact that he’s looking quite a lot older and fatter these days, has defected to the US, and his most successful role in recent years was in ‘Saw’. Robin Wright is perfect as Buttercup – the most beautiful woman in the world – and is currently married to Sean Penn, having portrayed Forrest Gump’s girlfriend. Out of the supporting cast my favourite character has to be Inigo Mantoya, played by Mandy Patinkin (now sadly out of the movie game somewhat) and the fencing match between Inigo and Westley is easily my favourite scene. I end this rather effusive review with a recommendation that if you haven’t seen this film already, go out and buy yourself a copy of the DVD (there’s even a special edition being released just in time for Christmas) as I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do.'
The fuzzy and cute Seth Rogen and the lovely Elizabeth Banks play the titular (given the movie's subject, no pun intended) best mates in this latest Kevin Smith project, about a supposedly platonic friendship which grows into something more when the pair hit dire straits and are forced to make a porno to make ends meet. As you do. Enter Traci Lords and Jason Mewes (of Jay and Silent Bob), which must surely be the source of the latter's dirtiest dreams. From this brief precis you're correct to assume that this movie is a bit silly, a bit childish, and well, a bit rude. I'm not going to pretend it's a masterpiece, but I'll certainly argue that it's entertaining enough fare. Although it has made me snigger when using phrases like 'Enter Traci Lords'. Which is surely rather worrying. Where was I? Oh yes - Zack and Miri is good fun if you don't take it too seriously and is at least an original way of telling the age old story of two friends who start to fall in love (or realise they always have been in love).
I'm on record as having something of a liking for Seth Rogen and indeed a juvenile sense of humour, as well as a predilection for Kevin Smith films, and I think that to enjoy this movie you'd have to share these views. They certainly allowed me to forgive some of the movie's weaknesses. Kevin Smith's stoner humour is known for wandering into shall we say, scatological territory, and this movie is no different. The comedy doesn't always come off and there are moments which could surely only ever appeal to a rather dim teenage boy's sense of humour (which even my comedic proclivities were embarrassed by). The predictable script wasn't as crackling as his previous efforts (although it was better than Jersey Girl for what it's worth) so I'd say that the success of Zack and Miri is definitely down to ability of its two leads to get the audience on side. Kevin Smith is still kind of stuck in the 90s but Rogen's presence gave the whole thing a more youthful and up to date feel. His likeable persona also - my bias aside - enabled the audience to shrug off any reservations about bad taste as you could warm to him more than the likes of previous Smith stalwarts, who never really seemed to actually like the women they slept with that much. It also made the ordinary bloke getting the hot girl equation way easier to believe. Helpfully there was a believable chemistry between him and Banks: I bought that they were friends and was invested in their getting together.
The supporting cast were also strong enough to carry off the dodgier humour. Jason Mewes, Jeff Anderson (Clerks) and Craig Robinson (The Office) were the source of most laughs. I also loved that Smith managed to lure the really really ridiculously good looking and hetero Brandon Routh (of many a teenage girl's fantasies) to play a gay guy and spoof his Superman persona; it showed that Routh has a ready sense of humour and the dialogue between him and Justin Long, who played his out and proud lover, was great stuff. The re-location of the porno shoot to the coffee shop in which Zack works also drew a smile - Smith fans will know that Clerks was actually filmed at night in the 7/11 where he worked at the time, and this fact surely wasn't lost on him when he wrote this. He's come a long way, even if the comedy is still pretty much the same ...
On the whole and despite it's flaws, I liked this latest View Askew production, which trod a sometimes not so fine line between smut and schmaltz. I'm never really sure whether Kevin Smith works at the cinema and suspect when this is out on DVD I'll revisit this and enjoy more. There's something so small scale about his stories and their locales (even Dogma) which doesn't readily translate to the big screen and almost colours your judgment, so if my comments seem ambivalent bear this in mind. I'll sign off by saying that whilst Zack and Miri isn't as charming as Rogen's other 'rom com' Knocked Up, it's still quite sweet, albeit the kind of sweet which sees the central characters wielding dildos and discussing anal sex with alarming regularity.
Oh. One more thing. Seth, keep the stubble! For anyone else who loves him as much as I do (OK, it's totally just for my benefit), here's a piccie for your delectation:
I finally saw the new Bond movie yesterday, a movie which is the second outing for Blond Bond Daniel Craig - from hereon known as 'Angry Bond' - and the first for director Mark Forster, whose name you may associate with the completely different films Finding Neverland and of course, Monster's Ball (for which Halle Berry, herself a past Bond babe, won an Oscar). I was intrigued to see how Forster would tackle such a high octane action story and also by how the new Bond would fare in a second instalment - especially given that, unlike Casino Royale, this movie is not based on an Ian Fleming novel (although the title comes from a line in a Bond short story), so is a further departure from Bonds of old.
Craig laughed - or sneered, more appropriately - in the face of doubters in his first Bond film and continues to wow in this sequel, which picks up straight where Casino Royale left off. His less charming and more brutal Bond is seeking revenge for girlfriend Vesper's death, mixing emotions with duty as he hunts down the organisation who manipulated Vesper into betraying him. His steely blue eyes are his most powerful asset as they convey Bond's bitterness and focus more than any longwinded monologue ever could. This is a man with a mission - a mission which in its blind need for vengeance tests the patience of Judi Dench's M and the British security services to the full. As he sets about his vendetta with an almost clinical precision - he is, as Bond Girl Camille notes, 'horribly efficient' - the audience witness high speed car and boat chases/collisions, much fisticuffs, gunshots and explosions, and some very cool gadgetry. All of this is bloodier and dirtier than ever before, whilst retaining all the elements you've come to expect from the franchise.
A notable change from pre-Craig Bonds is that the Bond Girls can now a) act and, in this movie especially, b) kick ass. This is, it goes without saying, a development I salute. Olga Kurylenko’s Camille is not only a stunner (think urban Lara Croft), but also in league with Bond to administer her own revenge against a corrupt Bolivian leader who killed her family, which affords her a fair share of the action. A former model, Kurylenko acquits herself well and is more than just a pretty face. The seemingly ubiquitous Gemma Arterton plays the ridiculously named agent Strawberry Fields with style and, whilst looking (and sounding) more in league with Bond glamour pusses of old, adds a romantic, softer touch to proceedings. Her fate is a sickening play on a scene from Goldfinger and further illustrates the darker new direction for the franchise whilst anchoring it firmly to its heritage. However, there were some throwbacks to old which were just as definitively 'Bond' as ever - the glamorous locations for one. There remained some of the old wry humour too, although dryer and less camp. But one of my favourite elements of the film was Mathieu Amalric, who played Bond's nemesis Dominic Greene in a fabulously evil fashion. He was a superb villain, all reptilian leers and darting glances, and his punishment was totally fitting for his crime (I will say no more) ...
I really like the way the franchise has been reinvigorated and am sure that this movie will prove Bond's popularity continues with a new generation of movie-goers. However I wasn't so convinced by Forster's direction of the fight scenes - it might have been the burgeoning migraine I was coming down with, but the camera work was so shaky and fast it was impossible to see what was really happening and just made me feel quite giddy. And not in a good way. Given that these scenes were so frequent (and indeed integral to the movie), this was a real weakness and actually spoilt my enjoyment. Going back to the cast, I'd have liked to see more of Jeffrey Wright's CIA agent - he was very underused for such a talented actor and doing more with the role of the Americans might have helped flesh out the story, which felt a bit thin at times (basically hinging on Bond's need for payback and little else). On the whole though, I don't quite understand detractors of this movie. It ticks all the right boxes for an action film, although admittedly without the elegance the more adrenaline-fuelled scenes needed. To my mind, Quantum of Solace is more engaged with Bond themes and traditions than many people have given it credit for. Yes it is very different to it's predecessors and much grittier, and I might feel like it's borrowed too heavily from the Bourne films had I seen them, but it's still an action movie which manages to grip you even though the outcome is always clear. And yes - although we might not see him in his shorts, Craig still gives us girls ample opportunity to oogle him - he's the sexiest Bond to date.
I've literally just come back from the homeland (i.e. Brum) and am astonished by the level of fervour in the shops so soon before Christmas. As I'm soon off to the land of kangas, koalas and barbecues (not to lean on stereotypes you understand), I figured a spot of early Christmas shopping was in order. It seems most of the West Midlands had the same idea. Not fun. And I usually love a bit of retail therapy! After looking around eateries for some time we finally found a place with a free table only to wait 45 minutes for a meal. Which given it was a Wetherspoons pub, was a bit rich. When my 'nachos' arrived (doritos, congealed cheese and chicken - when I'd asked for chilli beef - and no salsa, sour cream or guacamole!!) I was, to say the least, rather disappointed. On the way back I started thinking about movies and music I've enjoyed recently and thought I'd share these thoughts with y'all. You never know, they may just give you some gift ideas for the festive season!
In Bruges
I recently saw In Bruges on DVD on the recommendation of Filmknitter. I won't say too much here as her review is great and completely bang on, but will say that it's a fantastic film, much darker than I'd expected yet also much, much funnier. Methinks Colin Farrall might finally have found his niche as an actor. In Bruges is totally not PC, but audacious and amusing and - this is the biggest shock - oddly moving. It gives you way more than your average thriller, and all with the beautiful backdrop of Bruges to feast your eyes upon. This was actually so stunning it made up for Ralph Fiennes' Mockney accent ...
Acid Tongue - Jenny Lewis
I've been obsessed with Jenny Lewis' (of Rilo Kiley fame) album Acid Tongue for a while now ... I know some people who've not got on with it; the production values are very slick and I can see why that wouldn't appeal to everyone, but I really liked it. It's certainly not as overproduced as Under the Blacklight, which I liked in a Fleetwood Mac kind of way (and before you start, there's absolutely nothing wrong with Fleetwood Mac - just ask Midlake!). M Ward's involvement ensures she gets the hipster vote and a certain Mr Costello also makes an appearance which is pretty damn cool if you ask me. Whilst the LP isn't as engaging as her outing with The Watson Twins (Rabbit Fur Coat), it has some lovely harmonies nonetheless - some with Zooey Deschanel, another pin up for the indie boys out there and whose own musical forays have received a very positive reception here at Matching Curtains. I do wish the LP was in a better case though, a cardboard envelope just doesn't cut the mustard I'm afraid, in spite of the lovely souvenir cards inside. This aside, Acid Tongue has a lovely country vibe which plays to all the strengths of Lewis' wonderfully melodic voice (it is stunning - I'd love to hear her live) and I'll definitely be following her career outside of Rilo Kiley closely.
Snowflake Midnight - Mercury Rev
Weird and wonderful, Snowflake Midnight is a landscape of strange sounds and musical experimentation which is a bit different from Deserter's Songs, the band's most famous album, in that it has a more electronic feel. But if you know someone who likes to be challenged and beguiled by their music, then I reckon as gifts go, you can't go far wrong with this.
Meet Glenn Campbell - Glenn Campbell
Yes, the Rhinestone Cowboy has recorded a number of tracks originally written and performed by contemporary artists. This could have been incredibly naff, but I love it. Travis's 'Sing' is given new life and in my mind is actually an improvement (this without departing massively from the original!); Green Day's 'Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)' transformed to sound as though it could be straight from Campbell's own back catalogue; and John Lennon's elegiac 'Grow Old With Me' is really very moving indeed. Oh yeah - there's also a Foo Fighters cover too! Intrigued yet?
And to end on an Australian note (well why not, I am going to be there soon!) - the DVD of Summer Heights High, an Australian school mockumentary, should be on everyone's christmas list. It's hilarious. The character of Jonah reminds you both how AWFUL lads like him were like at school, yet also how funny they were in hindsight - and perhaps only in hindsight! The poor teachers. Cracking stuff. Check out the clip below - I defy you not to laugh.
I recently sat down to watch Elizabeth: The Golden Age on DVD, having missed it at the cinema. Man, I'm glad I didn't pay £7.50 to sit through it back then! I thought that the movie's predecessor was stunning in every way (Intelligent, great cast, stellar script) so I had high hopes for the sequel (I know, it's not technically a sequel but I figure I can afford to be a bit cavalier with history - the director of this let down certainly was). However, it's hard to believe the same director was at the helm after watching this offering. Unlike Elizabeth, this movie treats its audience like they have not a jot of intelligence and falls back on a formulaic love triangle in what seems to be an attempt to curry favour with its viewers. The Golden Age sees England and Spain at loggerheads in the late 1500s, with the Catholic Spain set on bringing down the Protestant Elizabeth. Intrigues involving Mary Stuart as a pawn build to lead to the defeat of the Spanish Armada and along the way, Elizabeth is presented as falling in love with Walter Raleigh (who in reality was a favourite of hers at court). Their relationship flounders when he gets dallies with one of her ladies in waiting, and the queen is thus forced to choose between her heart and her duty by forgiving Raleigh for what she sees as his betrayal, in order to secure the good of her country.
Although Cate Blanchett, Samantha Morton (a very good Mary Stuart) and Abbie Cornish (Bess, the lady for whom Raleigh falls) were impeccable, Geoffrey Rush - usually a safe bet - seemed bored reprising his role as Walsingham and the presence of the perma-smug Clive Owen as a very unlikely Raleigh let the whole thing down. And what was with his I've been tangoed tan? Methinks the make up team overdid it with the bronzer in trying to make Mr Owen look all burnished and rugged from his seafaring. Anyway, aside from the distracting 'glow' (ahem), Owen just didn't have the gravitas for this role and did what he did best; his Roger Moore type irony inflecting his every move. Given the script I suppose he can be forgiven for appearing to know the punchline to a bad joke, but to the always amazing Blanchett's credit, at least she did try and make the best of a botched job.
Aside from the miscasting of a key player I had other issues with this movie. I have no problems with movies which only pay lip service to history in favour of spicing up the narrative (See: Marie Antoinette, Churchill: The Hollywood Years) so please don't think me some tediously puritanical historian, but here Raleigh is depicted as singlehandedly leading the English to victory against the Spanish Armada! As if! Sir Francis Drake's involvement was far more significant but he's relegated in this movie, placed in the shadow of the love story the writers wanted to embroider for the sake of bums on seats, I suppose. Aside from the many historical inaccuracies and bad script, I also thought the naval battle was confusing to watch and the CGI it was rendered in could have been better.
So, you ask, what did I like about the movie?! Blanchett, of course. She is really the only actress who could play Elizabeth I and commanded the screen. The gorgeous sets and sumptuous costumes were beyond criticism and the dreamy sequence which sees Blanchett as a warrior queen decked in armour was stunning to behold. The themes were also interesting enough: the way religion can be used to serve ends antithetical to its teachings, the ideas of power and divinity, and different types of love and responsibility, were all meaty enough subjects which the majority of the cast were more than equipped to take on. However, these ideas could have been expanded upon and the love story scaled down and I think it would have been to the movie's credit. Particularly with respect to the idea of a queen's divinity and the actions taken with respect to Mary Stuart, it would have been good to have given the reliable Samantha Morton more screen time. Ultimately, this was less of an intellectual movie and more of a blockbuster type spectacle which it is impossible to take too seriously.
It's the 1920s and Roy (Lee Pace, who wears the adjective 'delightful' like a glove), a Hollywood stuntman, is injured, apparently from a stunt-related mishap. He sits in an a Los Angeles hospital embittered by a failed love affair and paralysed from the waist down, steadily nurturing suicidal thoughts. It is at the hospital he meets Alexandria, a little girl played by the adorable Carinca Untaru, who can not only act, but who made waves in my mind by being one of the few child actors not to annoy the hell out of me. She darts about the hospital, her broken arm held aloft in a cast (she has also fallen, thus paralleling their reasons for being in the hospital), and after Roy tells her a story about Alexander the Great, inspired by her name, the pair start an unlikely friendship which is formed through a mutual love of stories.
The stories Roy weaves take elements from his own life and what he learns about that of his listener; characters from the hospital world are also used as characters in his 'epic' tale. The key characters in his story are led by a masked bandit who stands in for Roy himself, and are united in their need to avenge wrongs done them by a man known as Governor Odious. The landscape they inhabit is exotic and lush (islands like butterflies, Indian palaces, pyramids and jungles all feature), and their adventures are the stuff of the greatest fairy stories. Alexandria is fascinated by the tales and her visits to Roy become more more and more frequent, the story always stopping once they get to a 'beautiful' moment or one full of suspense. It is in these pauses that Roy's motives for storytelling are exposed, as he manipulates her desire to hear more by promising an encore if she'll only procure him some morphine from the hospital dispensary. The physical falls thus take a metaphorical slant as we witness a man at his lowest ebb using a child to help him kill himself, and the suspense in the hospital setting tugs on the viewers' attention as much as the visual splendour of Roy's' tales have entranced both audience and Alexandria. I won't give away what happens, but as Roy's depression grows, so does the darkness and violence in his tales, and we witness the tyrannical ambiguity of story-telling through the pair's relationship (both the power of the teller and the demands of the listener).
However, this is after all a movie and director Tarsem is on the side of the storytellers. In a morphine induced haze, Roy's tale becomes scrappier, stranger and more savage, but is saved by the intervention of Alexandria, who herself enters the story. Thus the healing power of stories is celebrated and the interplay between teller and hearer made all too clear. A story only exists if we are there to hear it, after all. I was glad that the movie ended happily as I really enjoyed it and was already moved without the need for a completely tragic ending. The imaginative cinematography and distinctive use of colour completely won me over (I am shallow!); there was some creative use of religious iconography from both east and west with some stunning tableaus (swimming elephants, for instance). The costumes worn by Roy's characters were likewise amazing (a woman in a headdresss like a butterfly stands out). The way the characters responded to events outside of their story, like when Alexandria upbraids their narrator for forgetting things he'd told her before, was both funny and clever.
Tarsem's last movie was The Cell, which I didn't see but had heard criticised for favouring visuals over narrative. Here the issue of narrative is the key theme of the movie and is central to driving forward and fashioning new, amazing looking set pieces. The interplay between fiction and reality is exploited to the full and the movie is never too clever for it's own good - there are some rather moving as well as quirky moments which draw you in and that's largely down to the casting of the incredibly appealing leads. I've only ever seen Lee Pace in Pushing Daisies, which I love in a kooky, Tim Burton-lite kinda way, and was pleased to see him having more to do in this movie. I'll certainly be looking out for more stuff with him in. And Carinca Untaru was incredibly naturalistic - this is one child actor who could actually forge an adult career should she wish! Both visual and visionary, this story about stories and why we tell them is totally memorable. Evoking tales like the Persian 1001 Nights, it is a playful take on fairy story conventions which thinks outside of the box and is visually thrilling to behold. Recommended.
Recent Comments