300 is a 2006 American film adapted from a graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller, a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae. The film was directed by Zack Snyder, while Miller served as executive producer and consultant. It was filmed mostly with a super-imposition chroma key technique, to help replicate the imagery of the original comic book. The film remains in my mind as stunning cinemaphotgrapy because of this chroma key technique.
The plot revolves around King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), who leads 300 Spartans into battle against Persian "god-King" Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his army of more than one million soldiers. As the battle rages, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) attempts to rally support in Sparta for her husband. The story is framed by a voice-over narrative by the Spartan soldier Dilios (David Wenham). Through this narrative technique, various fantastical creatures are introduced, placing 300 within the genre of historical fantasy. I love a film with a narrative telling-a-story approach.
Film critics were divided over its look and style. Some acclaimed it as an original achievement, while others criticized it for favoring visuals over characterization and its controversial depiction of the ancient Persians.
The 300 writer Frank Miller states: "The Spartans were a paradoxical people. They were the biggest slave owners in Greece. But at the same time, Spartan women had an unusual level of rights. It's a paradox that they were a bunch of people who in many ways were fascist, but they were the bulwark against the fall of democracy. The closest comparison you can draw in terms of our own military today is to think of the red-caped Spartans as being like our special-ops forces. They're these almost superhuman characters with a tremendous warrior ethic, who were unquestionably the best fighters in Greece. I didn't want to render Sparta in overly accurate terms, because ultimately I do want you to root for the Spartans. I couldn't show them being quite as cruel as they were. I made them as cruel as I thought a modern audience could stand.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Miss Potter - 2006
I love a story that brings out the "I" word: IMAGINATION. It is basically a biopic film about children's author and illustrator, Beatrix Potter. It combines stories from her own interesting life with animated sequences featuring characters from her stories, such as Peter Rabbit.
The film was director Chris Noonan's first in 10 years (since he made Babe), having waited for many years until he finally found a script that inspired him. Cate Blanchett, who originally suggested Noonan for the role of director, was at one point set to star at the film but apologetically left the project when one of her other films was green-lit before this one.
Actress Renee Zellweger ended up becoming an executive producer on the film because she was dis-satisfied with the script and wanted to get more involved. The film was first brought to Ewan McGregor's attention by Zellweger, who had kept in contact with him after collaborating on "Down with Love". McGregor described the film as having a somewhat similar appeal as that film, and noted that he was familiar with Beatrix Potter's illustrations and stories, which he said he reads to his children. To prepare for the role, McGregor studied photographs of Norman Warne and visited the modern-day Warne publishing house. Zellweger read actual letters between Beatrix Potter and Norman Warne and Millie to prepare for the role, but had difficulty with the accent, which she said was very different from Bridget Jones'. As there were no records of Beatrix Potter’s speaking voice, they had to guess; ultimately the voice was softened so as not to irritate contemporary audiences with the tight, high voice a woman of Beatrix Potter's standing at that time may have had. Zellweger said that she had read a few of Beatrix Potter's stories growing up, but that she had never known anything about the woman herself.
The film was director Chris Noonan's first in 10 years (since he made Babe), having waited for many years until he finally found a script that inspired him. Cate Blanchett, who originally suggested Noonan for the role of director, was at one point set to star at the film but apologetically left the project when one of her other films was green-lit before this one.
Actress Renee Zellweger ended up becoming an executive producer on the film because she was dis-satisfied with the script and wanted to get more involved. The film was first brought to Ewan McGregor's attention by Zellweger, who had kept in contact with him after collaborating on "Down with Love". McGregor described the film as having a somewhat similar appeal as that film, and noted that he was familiar with Beatrix Potter's illustrations and stories, which he said he reads to his children. To prepare for the role, McGregor studied photographs of Norman Warne and visited the modern-day Warne publishing house. Zellweger read actual letters between Beatrix Potter and Norman Warne and Millie to prepare for the role, but had difficulty with the accent, which she said was very different from Bridget Jones'. As there were no records of Beatrix Potter’s speaking voice, they had to guess; ultimately the voice was softened so as not to irritate contemporary audiences with the tight, high voice a woman of Beatrix Potter's standing at that time may have had. Zellweger said that she had read a few of Beatrix Potter's stories growing up, but that she had never known anything about the woman herself.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
The Ninth Day - 2004
Would you give your life, your freedom to protect right from wrong? To keep your faith? To protect the lives of others?
In World War II, after a period living hell on earth in the concentration camp of Dachau with other catholic priests, Father Abbé Henri Kremer gets a nine days leave to return to his home town for his mother's funeral. Along this period, the SS Gestapo lieutenant Gebhardt tries to persuade Henri, who was born in silver-spoon and member of an influent Luxembourgian family, to convince the local bishop to give-up resisting to the Germans and write a letter to the Vatican in the name of the Catholic Church of Luxemburg convincing the Pope to support Hitler and the Nazi regime.
A drama loosely based on Jean Bernard's Nazi-era prison diary "Pfarrerblock 25487".
A Touch Of Class - 1973
A Touch of Class is a 1973 British romantic comedy film which tells the story of a couple having an affair, who find themselves falling in love. It stars George Segal and Glenda Jackson. It was adapted by Melvin Frank and Jack Rose from the story "She Loves Me, She Told Me So Last Night" by Frank, who also directed.
The lead role of Steve was originally offered to Cary Grant, with a promise by Frank to rewrite the script to play up the age difference between Steve and Vicky. However, Grant opted to remain in retirement from filmmaking, and he turned the role down. He did remain connected to the film, however, as it was produced by Fabergé's Brut Productions, and Grant was on the board of directors for Fabergé.
Glenda Jackson plays Vicky Allesio, a divorced mother of two. George Segal plays Steve Blackburn, a married father who 'has cheated on his wife once... in the same town. After sharing a taxi together Steve invites Vicky to tea, and then lunch, where he takes Vicky up to a hotel room, hoping to have sex. Vicky admits that she would like to have uncomplicated sex, but isn't impressed by the setting, wanting somewhere sunny. Steve arranges a trip to Málaga.
Is there such a thing as "uncomplicated sex"? This one was amusing to me and the closing tune (All That Love Went To Waste) in the final scene always stuck with me. I love this one. The film won the Academy Award for Best Actress (Glenda Jackson) and was nominated for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score, Best Music, Song (for George Barrie and Sammy Cahn for "All That Love Went to Waste"), Best Picture and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced. Both Segal and Jackson won Golden Globes for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical Or Comedy.
The lead role of Steve was originally offered to Cary Grant, with a promise by Frank to rewrite the script to play up the age difference between Steve and Vicky. However, Grant opted to remain in retirement from filmmaking, and he turned the role down. He did remain connected to the film, however, as it was produced by Fabergé's Brut Productions, and Grant was on the board of directors for Fabergé.
Glenda Jackson plays Vicky Allesio, a divorced mother of two. George Segal plays Steve Blackburn, a married father who 'has cheated on his wife once... in the same town. After sharing a taxi together Steve invites Vicky to tea, and then lunch, where he takes Vicky up to a hotel room, hoping to have sex. Vicky admits that she would like to have uncomplicated sex, but isn't impressed by the setting, wanting somewhere sunny. Steve arranges a trip to Málaga.
Is there such a thing as "uncomplicated sex"? This one was amusing to me and the closing tune (All That Love Went To Waste) in the final scene always stuck with me. I love this one. The film won the Academy Award for Best Actress (Glenda Jackson) and was nominated for Best Music, Original Dramatic Score, Best Music, Song (for George Barrie and Sammy Cahn for "All That Love Went to Waste"), Best Picture and Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced. Both Segal and Jackson won Golden Globes for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical Or Comedy.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
The Reader - 2008
"Societies think they operate by something called morality, but they don't. They operate by something called law.
8000 people worked at Auschwitz. Precisely 19 have been convicted, and only 6 of murder.
The question is never "Was it wrong", but "Was it legal". And not by our laws, no. By the laws at the time." Professor Rohl
What happens when the person who changed your life is placed on trial for war crimes? What do you do when you know a secret that could save their life and they don't want it exposed?
Post-WWII Germany: Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, law student Michael Berg re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war-crime trial.
Based on Bernhard Schlink's best-seller.
Romantics Anonymous (Les Emotifs Anonymes) - 2011
What happens when a man and a woman share a common passion? They fall in love. And this is what happens to Jean-René, the boss of a small chocolate factory, and Angélique, a gifted chocolate maker he has just hired. What occurs when a highly emotional man meets a highly emotional woman? They fall in love, and this is what occurs to Jean-René and Angélique who share the same handicap. But being pathologically timid does not make things easy for them. So whether they will manage to get together, join their solitudes and live happily ever after is a guessing matter.
This was one of the French/Belgium films I screened at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2011. It's a great romantic comedy that made me smile, laugh...and it has a lot of familiar anectdotes. Excellent.
If you like chocolate or 'desserts' you'll love the sweetness of this film.
This was one of the French/Belgium films I screened at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 26, 2011. It's a great romantic comedy that made me smile, laugh...and it has a lot of familiar anectdotes. Excellent.
If you like chocolate or 'desserts' you'll love the sweetness of this film.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Rebecca - 1940
I read this classic book by Daphne du Maurier and then I watched the movie. I strongly recommend one read the book before the film. It's amazing how an old Alfred Hitchcock film can still hold its own after so many years.
Rebecca is a 1940 psychological/dramatic thriller and it is Alfred Hitchcock's first American project. It was Hitchcock's first film produced under his contract with David O. Selznick. The film's screenplay was an adaptation by Joan Harrison and Robert E. Sherwood from Philip MacDonald and Michael Hogan's adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel of the same name, and was produced by Selznick. It stars Laurence Olivier as the aristocratic widower Maxim de Winter, Joan Fontaine as his second wife, and Judith Anderson as the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers.
The film is a gothic tale about the lingering memory of the title character, Maxim de Winter's dead first wife, which continues to haunt Maxim, his new bride, and Mrs. Danvers. The film won two Academy Awards, including Best Picture out of a total 11 nominations. Olivier, Fontaine and Anderson were all Oscar nominated for their respective roles. Since the introduction of awards for actors in supporting roles, this is the only film named Best Picture that won no other Academy Award for acting, directing or writing.
It was the opening film at the 1st Berlin International Film Festival. It's a true motion-picture classic.
Rebecca is a 1940 psychological/dramatic thriller and it is Alfred Hitchcock's first American project. It was Hitchcock's first film produced under his contract with David O. Selznick. The film's screenplay was an adaptation by Joan Harrison and Robert E. Sherwood from Philip MacDonald and Michael Hogan's adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel of the same name, and was produced by Selznick. It stars Laurence Olivier as the aristocratic widower Maxim de Winter, Joan Fontaine as his second wife, and Judith Anderson as the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers.
The film is a gothic tale about the lingering memory of the title character, Maxim de Winter's dead first wife, which continues to haunt Maxim, his new bride, and Mrs. Danvers. The film won two Academy Awards, including Best Picture out of a total 11 nominations. Olivier, Fontaine and Anderson were all Oscar nominated for their respective roles. Since the introduction of awards for actors in supporting roles, this is the only film named Best Picture that won no other Academy Award for acting, directing or writing.
It was the opening film at the 1st Berlin International Film Festival. It's a true motion-picture classic.
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