Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - 2008
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Midnight In Paris - 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Excalibur - 1981
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone (the proof of Arthur's lineage) are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was associated with the Arthurian legend very early. In Welsh, the sword is called Caledfwlch.
In 1981 dramatic fantasy film of EXCALIBUR was directed, produced and co-written by John Boorman that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Adapted from the 15th century Arthurian romance, Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory, Excalibur features the music of Richard Wagner and Carl Orff, along with an original score by Trevor Jones. It stars Nigel Terry as Arthur, Nicholas Clay as Lancelot, Helen Mirren as Morgana, Liam Neeson as Gawain, Nicol Williamson as Merlin and a relatively unknown Patrick Stewart as Leondegrance. The film is named for the legendary sword of King Arthur that features prominently in Arthurian literature.
Shot entirely on location in Ireland and employing Irish actors and crew, the film has been acknowledged for its importance to the Irish filmmaking industry and for helping launch the film careers of Neeson, as well as Gabriel Byrne, Neil Jordan and Ciarán Hinds.
Excalibur achieved moderate box office success while receiving mixed reviews. Although film critics Roger Ebert and Vincent Canby criticized the film's plot and characters, they, along with other reviewers, praised it visually. Excalibur opened at number one in the United States, eventually grossing $34,967,437 on a budget of around USD $11 million, to rank 18th in that year's receipts.
In 1981 dramatic fantasy film of EXCALIBUR was directed, produced and co-written by John Boorman that retells the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the Round Table. Adapted from the 15th century Arthurian romance, Le Morte d'Arthur by Thomas Malory, Excalibur features the music of Richard Wagner and Carl Orff, along with an original score by Trevor Jones. It stars Nigel Terry as Arthur, Nicholas Clay as Lancelot, Helen Mirren as Morgana, Liam Neeson as Gawain, Nicol Williamson as Merlin and a relatively unknown Patrick Stewart as Leondegrance. The film is named for the legendary sword of King Arthur that features prominently in Arthurian literature.
Shot entirely on location in Ireland and employing Irish actors and crew, the film has been acknowledged for its importance to the Irish filmmaking industry and for helping launch the film careers of Neeson, as well as Gabriel Byrne, Neil Jordan and Ciarán Hinds.
Excalibur achieved moderate box office success while receiving mixed reviews. Although film critics Roger Ebert and Vincent Canby criticized the film's plot and characters, they, along with other reviewers, praised it visually. Excalibur opened at number one in the United States, eventually grossing $34,967,437 on a budget of around USD $11 million, to rank 18th in that year's receipts.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Malena - 2000
This is a great flashback to 1941 ITALY story that I thought was so very uniquely told and photographed. I highly recommend it. Watching Monica Bellucci as "Malena" is worthy of your time (Italian elegance). The ending may not be the best--but keep in mind that it's a slice of what may be a longer, more in-depth story.
he film is set in Sicily in 1940 during World War II just as Italy enters the war. Malena's husband, Nino Scordia, who left to join the military is presumed dead. Malena tries to cope with her loss, as the town she has moved to tries to deal with this beautiful woman who gets the attention of all the local men, including the 12-year-old Renato. However, in spite of the gossip, she continues to be faithful to her husband. Renato becomes obsessed with Malena and starts fantasizing about her.
Renato continues to watch as she suffers from grief. Malena is shunned by the townspeople who begin to believe the worst about her, simply because of her beauty.
Film critic Roger Ebert compared the film to Federico Fellini's work, writing, "Fellini's films often involve adolescents inflamed by women who embody their carnal desires (e.g. Amarcord and 8½). But Fellini sees the humor that underlies sexual obsession, except (usually but not always) in the eyes of the participants. Malena is a simpler story, in which a young man grows up transfixed by a woman and essentially marries himself to the idea of her. It doesn't help that the movie's action grows steadily gloomier, leading to a public humiliation that seems wildly out of scale with what has gone before and to an ending that is intended to move us much more deeply, alas, than it can."
he film is set in Sicily in 1940 during World War II just as Italy enters the war. Malena's husband, Nino Scordia, who left to join the military is presumed dead. Malena tries to cope with her loss, as the town she has moved to tries to deal with this beautiful woman who gets the attention of all the local men, including the 12-year-old Renato. However, in spite of the gossip, she continues to be faithful to her husband. Renato becomes obsessed with Malena and starts fantasizing about her.
Renato continues to watch as she suffers from grief. Malena is shunned by the townspeople who begin to believe the worst about her, simply because of her beauty.
Film critic Roger Ebert compared the film to Federico Fellini's work, writing, "Fellini's films often involve adolescents inflamed by women who embody their carnal desires (e.g. Amarcord and 8½). But Fellini sees the humor that underlies sexual obsession, except (usually but not always) in the eyes of the participants. Malena is a simpler story, in which a young man grows up transfixed by a woman and essentially marries himself to the idea of her. It doesn't help that the movie's action grows steadily gloomier, leading to a public humiliation that seems wildly out of scale with what has gone before and to an ending that is intended to move us much more deeply, alas, than it can."
Monday, August 8, 2011
The Lake House - 2006
The Lake House is a 2006 American romantic drama film remake of the South Korean motion picture Il Mare (2000). It was written by David Auburn, directed by Alejandro Agresti, and stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock as Alex Wyler and Kate Forster, respectively an architect living in 2004 and a doctor living in 2006. The two meet via letters left in a mailbox at the lake house they have both lived in at separate points in time; they carry on correspondence over two years, remaining separated by their original difference of two years. For Alex the time goes from 2004 to 2006. For Kate the time goes from 2006 to 2008. This film reunites Reeves and Bullock for the first time in a film since they co-starred in Speed in 1994.
In 2006, Dr. Kate Forster is leaving a lake house that she has been renting in suburban Wisconsin to move to Chicago. She leaves a note in the mailbox for the next tenant, adding that the paint-embedded pawprints on the walkway leading into the house were already there when she arrived.
Two years earlier, in 2004, Alex Wyler, an architect, arrives at the lake house and finds Kate's letter in the mailbox. The house is neglected, with no sign of pawprints anywhere. As Alex restores the house, a dog runs through his paint and leaves fresh pawprints right where Kate said they would be.
The film is set and filmed in the Chicago area. The downtown scenes are in The Loop. The scene where Kate and Morgan go to Henry's office, and Kate's dramatic exit down the stairs was filmed at the Chicago Architecture Foundation. The scene where Henry and Alex talk on the street after being in their father's office was filmed on the 400 block of South Michigan Ave, in front of the Fine Arts Building and the Auditorium Theater. Other filming location include Aurora, Illinois (now the Madison Park community) & Riverside, Illinois, a small town on the outskirts of Chicago known for its historic houses, and several Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. The train station in the movie is the real station of Riverside, and the bridge that Alex crosses, chasing Jack is called the "Swinging Bridge". It crosses the Des Plaines River. The lake house itself was built for the movie and dismantled after filming completed.
In 2006, Dr. Kate Forster is leaving a lake house that she has been renting in suburban Wisconsin to move to Chicago. She leaves a note in the mailbox for the next tenant, adding that the paint-embedded pawprints on the walkway leading into the house were already there when she arrived.
Two years earlier, in 2004, Alex Wyler, an architect, arrives at the lake house and finds Kate's letter in the mailbox. The house is neglected, with no sign of pawprints anywhere. As Alex restores the house, a dog runs through his paint and leaves fresh pawprints right where Kate said they would be.
The film is set and filmed in the Chicago area. The downtown scenes are in The Loop. The scene where Kate and Morgan go to Henry's office, and Kate's dramatic exit down the stairs was filmed at the Chicago Architecture Foundation. The scene where Henry and Alex talk on the street after being in their father's office was filmed on the 400 block of South Michigan Ave, in front of the Fine Arts Building and the Auditorium Theater. Other filming location include Aurora, Illinois (now the Madison Park community) & Riverside, Illinois, a small town on the outskirts of Chicago known for its historic houses, and several Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. The train station in the movie is the real station of Riverside, and the bridge that Alex crosses, chasing Jack is called the "Swinging Bridge". It crosses the Des Plaines River. The lake house itself was built for the movie and dismantled after filming completed.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Stardust - 2007
STARDUST is a 2007 fantasy film from Paramount Pictures, directed by Matthew Vaughn. The film is based on Neil Gaiman's novel of the same name and stars an ensemble cast including Charlie Cox, Ben Barnes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes, Sienna Miller, Mark Strong, Rupert Everett, Ricky Gervais, David Walliams, Nathaniel Parker, Peter O'Toole, David Kelly, Robert De Niro, Mark Heap and Henry Cavill. Narration is by Ian McKellen.
In 2008, it won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form.
The English village of Wall lies near a stone wall that is the border with the magical kingdom of Stormhold. A guard is constantly posted at a break in the wall, to prevent anyone from crossing. At the beginning of the story, Dunstan Thorne goes over the wall and into the Wall Market. There, he meets a slave girl who offers him a snowdrop in exchange for a kiss. Nine months later, the Wall Guard delivers a baby to Dunstan, saying his name is Tristan.
19 years later, in the capital of Stormhold, the king is on his deathbed. He throws a ruby into the sky, decreeing that the first of his fratricidal sons to recover it will be the new king. The gem collides with a star, and they fall together and land elsewhere in Stormhold. The king's remaining two sons, Primus and Septimus independently search for the gem.
In 2008, it won the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form.
The English village of Wall lies near a stone wall that is the border with the magical kingdom of Stormhold. A guard is constantly posted at a break in the wall, to prevent anyone from crossing. At the beginning of the story, Dunstan Thorne goes over the wall and into the Wall Market. There, he meets a slave girl who offers him a snowdrop in exchange for a kiss. Nine months later, the Wall Guard delivers a baby to Dunstan, saying his name is Tristan.
19 years later, in the capital of Stormhold, the king is on his deathbed. He throws a ruby into the sky, decreeing that the first of his fratricidal sons to recover it will be the new king. The gem collides with a star, and they fall together and land elsewhere in Stormhold. The king's remaining two sons, Primus and Septimus independently search for the gem.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
10,000 B.C. - 2008
For a fantasy film of this type I thought it was excellent with an amazing peek at prehistorical possibilities and film effects.
The story is set in the prehistoric era and was directed by Roland Emmerich and stars Camilla Belle and Steven Strait. The mammoths in the movie were based on elephants and fossils of mammoths, while the sabertooth tiger was based on tigers and ligers -- a lion/tiger hybrid. The sounds made by the sabertooth tiger in the movie are based on the vocalization of tigers and lions.
Emmerich opened casting sessions in late October 2005. In February 2006, Camilla Belle and Steven Strait were announced to star in the film, with Strait as the mammoth hunter and Belle as his love. Emmerich felt that casting well known actors would distract from the realistic feel of the prehistoric setting. "If like, Jake Gyllenhaal turned up in a movie like this, everybody would be, 'What's that?' " he explained. The casting of unknown actors also helped keep the film's budget down.
In 10,000 BC, a tribe of hunter-gatherers called the Yagahl live in a remote mountain range in the Urals and survive by killing woolly mammoths. D'Leh, a young hunter, has a companion named Evolet, an orphan who was found by the tribe. D'Leh, while hunting mammoths, manages to kill one and wins the "White Spear". He also wins Evolet in marriage, but feels he deserves neither since he killed the mammoth by accident.
The story is set in the prehistoric era and was directed by Roland Emmerich and stars Camilla Belle and Steven Strait. The mammoths in the movie were based on elephants and fossils of mammoths, while the sabertooth tiger was based on tigers and ligers -- a lion/tiger hybrid. The sounds made by the sabertooth tiger in the movie are based on the vocalization of tigers and lions.
Emmerich opened casting sessions in late October 2005. In February 2006, Camilla Belle and Steven Strait were announced to star in the film, with Strait as the mammoth hunter and Belle as his love. Emmerich felt that casting well known actors would distract from the realistic feel of the prehistoric setting. "If like, Jake Gyllenhaal turned up in a movie like this, everybody would be, 'What's that?' " he explained. The casting of unknown actors also helped keep the film's budget down.
In 10,000 BC, a tribe of hunter-gatherers called the Yagahl live in a remote mountain range in the Urals and survive by killing woolly mammoths. D'Leh, a young hunter, has a companion named Evolet, an orphan who was found by the tribe. D'Leh, while hunting mammoths, manages to kill one and wins the "White Spear". He also wins Evolet in marriage, but feels he deserves neither since he killed the mammoth by accident.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Ponyo - 2008
My kids told me that no film bog could be complete without a film by Hayao Miyazaki for Studio Ghibli. When asked for their favorite, it was unanimously PONYO. The creator of "Spirited Away", "Howl's Moving Castle", "Kiki's Delivery Service" and many more he is one of Japan's most highly regarded anime directors.
Featuring the amazing voices of Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson and many more.
This anime feature follows the adventures of a 5-year-old boy, Sosuke, and his burgeoning friendship with Ponyo, a goldfish princess who desperately wants to become human. After running away from and then being recaptured by her strict father, Ponyo -- with some help from Sosuke -- becomes more determined than ever to make her dreams come true. But will her wishes throw the entire earth off balance?
Although Miyazaki's films found critical and box office success in Japan, it wasn't until Miramax's release of his 1997 effort Princess Mononoke that he became widely known to U.S. audiences. In 2003, his Spirited Away won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and in 2006 Miyazaki was nominated for Howl's Moving Castle.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Reign of Fire - 2002
REIGN OF FIRE (2002) is an action fantasy film directed by Rob Bowman and starring Christian Bale, Matthew McConaughey, Gerard Butler, and Izabella Scorupco. It takes place in the year 2020 in England, after dragons have reawakened. The film grossed about $82 million on a $60 million budget.
This one is a major "what if" but it's about the possibilty that in 2008 during construction on the London Underground, a huge hibernating dragon awakens, incinerating the construction workers. The only survivor is 12-year-old Quinn Abercromby (Ben Thornton) whose mother, Karen (Alice Krige), was crew chief on the project. She is crushed by the dragon as she tries to escape to the surface with her son. The dragon flies out and suddenly dragons begin appearing, multiplying rapidly. It is announced that scientists discovered that dragons are a lost species that are responsible for the dinosaurs' extinction by burning them all to ash. The speculation was that dragons instinctually hibernate after destroying most of the earth's living creatures, waiting until the Earth repopulates.
Reign of Fire was filmed in Ireland, in the Wicklow Mountains. They were only allowed to film there under the condition that they clean up entirely after themselves, without damaging the landscape.
The film was shot at the time of an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in Ireland which, due to restrictions in place, meant that many planned sequences could not be shot.
The design and construction of the dead dragon were provided by Artem and the special visual effects provided by The Secret Lab.
This one is a major "what if" but it's about the possibilty that in 2008 during construction on the London Underground, a huge hibernating dragon awakens, incinerating the construction workers. The only survivor is 12-year-old Quinn Abercromby (Ben Thornton) whose mother, Karen (Alice Krige), was crew chief on the project. She is crushed by the dragon as she tries to escape to the surface with her son. The dragon flies out and suddenly dragons begin appearing, multiplying rapidly. It is announced that scientists discovered that dragons are a lost species that are responsible for the dinosaurs' extinction by burning them all to ash. The speculation was that dragons instinctually hibernate after destroying most of the earth's living creatures, waiting until the Earth repopulates.
Reign of Fire was filmed in Ireland, in the Wicklow Mountains. They were only allowed to film there under the condition that they clean up entirely after themselves, without damaging the landscape.
The film was shot at the time of an outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in Ireland which, due to restrictions in place, meant that many planned sequences could not be shot.
The design and construction of the dead dragon were provided by Artem and the special visual effects provided by The Secret Lab.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Nim's Island - 2008
This adventure seems like it's just for kids--but it's not. It's one of my favorites. It encourages imagination. Yes, there are a few 'corny' parts to it--but it's still a nice film for a change of pace.
Nim's Island is a 2008 American adventure-fantasy film directed by Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin and starring Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster, and Gerard Butler. The story is based on the book Nim's Island by Wendy Orr. A young girl, Nim, seeks help from the author of her favorite adventure series when her scientist father goes missing. Nim, though, lives on an island in the South Pacific. The author, Alexandra Rover, is an agoraphobic living in San Francisco. Rover overcomes her fears and sets out in search of Nim while Nim tries to overcome her fear of losing her father. In the meantime, a cruise ship company threatens to invade Nim's island with uncouth tourists.
Nim's Island is a 2008 American adventure-fantasy film directed by Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin and starring Abigail Breslin, Jodie Foster, and Gerard Butler. The story is based on the book Nim's Island by Wendy Orr. A young girl, Nim, seeks help from the author of her favorite adventure series when her scientist father goes missing. Nim, though, lives on an island in the South Pacific. The author, Alexandra Rover, is an agoraphobic living in San Francisco. Rover overcomes her fears and sets out in search of Nim while Nim tries to overcome her fear of losing her father. In the meantime, a cruise ship company threatens to invade Nim's island with uncouth tourists.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Brotherhood of the Wolf - 2001
Brotherhood of the Wolf is a 2001 French film directed by Christophe Gans, starring Samuel Le Bihan and Mark Dacascos, and written by Gans and Stéphane Cabel. Its original French title is Le Pacte des loups, which literally means "the pact of the wolves."
The film is loosely based on the book L'Innocence des loups ("The Innocence of the Wolves"), by the French zoologist Michel Louis, a study about a real-life series of killings that took place in France in the 18th century and the famous legend around the Beast of Gévaudan. Parts of the film were shot at Château de Roquetaillade. Being a historical drama film, it has anachronistic martial arts fight sequences; it also contains elements of erotica, mystery, horror, politics, romance, and fantasy.
This $29 million-budgeted film was an international box office success, grossing over $70 million in worldwide theatrical release. In the United States of America, the film also enjoyed commercial success; Universal Pictures paid $2 million to acquire the film's United States distribution rights and this film went on grossing $11,260,096 in limited theatrical release in the United States, making it the second-highest-grossing French-language film in the United States in the last two decades (this film also did brisk video and DVD sales in the United States).
The film is loosely based on the book L'Innocence des loups ("The Innocence of the Wolves"), by the French zoologist Michel Louis, a study about a real-life series of killings that took place in France in the 18th century and the famous legend around the Beast of Gévaudan. Parts of the film were shot at Château de Roquetaillade. Being a historical drama film, it has anachronistic martial arts fight sequences; it also contains elements of erotica, mystery, horror, politics, romance, and fantasy.
This $29 million-budgeted film was an international box office success, grossing over $70 million in worldwide theatrical release. In the United States of America, the film also enjoyed commercial success; Universal Pictures paid $2 million to acquire the film's United States distribution rights and this film went on grossing $11,260,096 in limited theatrical release in the United States, making it the second-highest-grossing French-language film in the United States in the last two decades (this film also did brisk video and DVD sales in the United States).
Monday, April 25, 2011
The Incredible Mr. Limpet - 1964
We always need a good movie for the 'kids' that the adults will like, too. Here's one that I recall seeing as a young boy at the movie theater. I really loved the fantasy of a man escaping to his own undersea world.
The story begins September 1941 just a few months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Shy bookkeeper Henry Limpet loves fish with a passion. When his friend George Stickel enlists in the Navy, Limpet attempts to enlist as well, but is rejected. Feeling downcast, he wanders down to a pier near Coney Island and accidentally falls in. Inexplicably, he finds he has turned into a fish. Since he never resurfaces, his wife, Bessie, and George assume he has drowned.
It's a live-action/animated film from Warner Bros. It is about a man named Henry Limpet who turns into a talking fish resembling a tilefish and helps the U.S. Navy locate and destroy Nazi submarines. Don Knotts plays the title character. The live action was directed by Arthur Lubin, while the animation was directed by Robert McKimson. Music includes songs by Sammy Fain, in collaboration with Harold Adamson, including "I Wish I Were A Fish", "Be Careful How You Wish", and "Deep Rapture".
The story begins September 1941 just a few months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Shy bookkeeper Henry Limpet loves fish with a passion. When his friend George Stickel enlists in the Navy, Limpet attempts to enlist as well, but is rejected. Feeling downcast, he wanders down to a pier near Coney Island and accidentally falls in. Inexplicably, he finds he has turned into a fish. Since he never resurfaces, his wife, Bessie, and George assume he has drowned.
It's a live-action/animated film from Warner Bros. It is about a man named Henry Limpet who turns into a talking fish resembling a tilefish and helps the U.S. Navy locate and destroy Nazi submarines. Don Knotts plays the title character. The live action was directed by Arthur Lubin, while the animation was directed by Robert McKimson. Music includes songs by Sammy Fain, in collaboration with Harold Adamson, including "I Wish I Were A Fish", "Be Careful How You Wish", and "Deep Rapture".
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Woman On Top - 2000
Do you like it HOT, HOT, HOT? This is a bit of a fantasy romantic-comedy that I came across and really liked. If you like good food it has an element of sensual servings in the storyline. I don't want to give it all away but Penelope Cruz gives a delightful performance as well. The story takes place in Salvador, Brazil and San Francisco, CA, USA.
Penelope Cruz, who plays Isabella in the film has suffered from motion sickness all of her life. Because of her illness she could not play much with other children. She stayed at home and learned how to cook, becoming a renowned chef as an adult. She fell in love with Toninho and they opened a restaurant together, with Isabella stuck in the kitchen and Toninho out front taking the credit.
The only way for Isabella to control her motion sickness is to control her motion. She must drive, take stairs instead of elevators, lead while dancing and must be on top during sex. Have a fun time with this cute story. It's a 'feel good' kind of movie.
Penelope Cruz, who plays Isabella in the film has suffered from motion sickness all of her life. Because of her illness she could not play much with other children. She stayed at home and learned how to cook, becoming a renowned chef as an adult. She fell in love with Toninho and they opened a restaurant together, with Isabella stuck in the kitchen and Toninho out front taking the credit.
The only way for Isabella to control her motion sickness is to control her motion. She must drive, take stairs instead of elevators, lead while dancing and must be on top during sex. Have a fun time with this cute story. It's a 'feel good' kind of movie.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Waking Life - 2001
No human being interested in their own journey through life could walk away from this movie the same. Exploring every facet of existential thought from self-actualization to the theory of an afterlife, this movie relies more on its diverse (and sometimes contradicting) ideas and ideologies more than the plot itself.
Think of 'Waking Life' as a documentary that interviews the greatest minds this world has to offer, while displaying the information through the eyes of a boy stuck in a dream. The visual aspects of the movie are a dream themselves. Unlike Richard Linklater's other frame by frame drawn over animations, 'Waking Life' assigns a different artist to each scene making for one hell of a piece of art.
'Waking Life' changed my world forever. I hope it does the same for you.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)