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Jun. 10th, 2012 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatWell I now know why none of the critics liked the musical Ghost - that was a horrific performance. Newsies disappointed me (although admittedly I may be too old for it - it has a huge cult fandom that is in its 20s, who adore the movie like you would not believe). As did Follies. And Nice Work If You Can Get it. Right now...the only impressive ones where Jesus Christ Superstar...and Neil Patrick Harris. Reminding me of why I haven't dashed out to see any Broadway musicals this year. I've seen three versions of JSC, and have two versions of the album. My favorite was the 1990s revival which popped up on PBS.
OTOH...Porgy and Bess looks really good.
[ETA: Once surprised me. That has got to be the first time I ever saw people dance on stage with various musical instruments while playing them and the song was hummable.
The film bored me and my father. He left. I went to sleep during it. Twice. Although I also went to sleep during Lost in Translation - five times. Slow indie romantic films featuring 20 somethings are sleep inducing. They are right the sitcom Girls has now made them irrelevant. But the musical ONCE looks different...that was moving. Best performance of the night. It'll win the Tony, no contest. Actually it will win Best Musical, and Porgy and Bess will get Best Revival. ]
And of the movies coming out this summer? The one I'm looking the most forward to? You'll never guess? That's right Rock of Ages. (Hey, I grew up in the 80s...I actually know those songs.)
The plays on the other hand look rather entertaining. Maybe I should just see a play? They tend to be shorter. I'm a fan of plays - because the action is propelled by dialogue! If you want to figure out how to write good dialogue, read plays. Lots of plays. Then try to write a few. Not screenplays. Plays. Thinking of either The Best Man or Venus in Furs.
Did manage to finally watch one of my netflix flicks - The Magical Imperium of Dr. Parnassus which is remarkable for one thing - Terry Gilliam's ability to flawlessly use four actors to perform one role, after his lead tragically died. Parnassus for those who don't already know - was Heath Ledger's last film, he died during the filming of it. It was a horrific shoot - most of it in freezing temps and in the rain, and Heath missing his family took long trips via plane back and forth from London, the US and Australia. This resulted in insane jetlag, illness, and horrific insomnia. If you think you have it bad, Heath couldn't sleep at all for a month, and in desperation over-medicated.
Heath was an amazing actor, he is almost unrecognizable in the role. And it is so different from the one he did right before it - The Joker in The Dark Knight, which he post-humnously won an Oscar for. So for that matter is Johnny Depp and Jude Law who blend flawlessly into the role and manage to look a lot like Heath. I was less impressed with Colin Farrel.
Actually the best performances are by Andrew Garfield, Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits.
Other than that? It's a boring film. Suffering from the same things Baron Muchason suffered from, as did The Brother's Grim (both far more entertaining by the way), Parnassus seems more interested in atmosphere, setting, and satire than coherent story or character. It wanders all over the place. There's something there...definitely, and it may well be brilliant, but it gets lost in all the sub-tangents that Gilliam takes you on.
Gilliam's films tend to be a bit busy. And you feel at times that you are looking a serious of interesting paintings but not watching a film.
Heath Ledger's character is the only one you can grab a hold of...but he is all over the place...and one can't help but wonder what would have happened if he hadn't died and Gilliam got to do whatever it was he wanted to do. Ledger's departure does effect the film, in an interesting way. Farrell, Law, and Depp play various versions of Ledger's embezzler Anton who is running from both the Russian Mob and the Devil - in the Imagerium mirror world that Parnassius creates. Depending on the fantasy and who he is wife, a different version of himself pops up. Valentina imagines him as Farrell, the older lady who dances with him in a world of shoes sees him as Johnny Depp, and the mob hit men see him as Jude Law.
The other characters...Valentina, Parnassus pretty daughter, Hansel - his assistant and her boyish companion (Garfield), Vern (the midget who is Parnassus' best bud) and of course Parassus (Plummer) and the Devil in the Dark blue Suit (Tom Waits). It was hard for me to care about them. Again this in part a problem with Gilliam, who is more interested in the look of his films than the content or the characters.
At any rate...I found the film disappointing and my attention kept wandering during it.
OTOH...Porgy and Bess looks really good.
[ETA: Once surprised me. That has got to be the first time I ever saw people dance on stage with various musical instruments while playing them and the song was hummable.
The film bored me and my father. He left. I went to sleep during it. Twice. Although I also went to sleep during Lost in Translation - five times. Slow indie romantic films featuring 20 somethings are sleep inducing. They are right the sitcom Girls has now made them irrelevant. But the musical ONCE looks different...that was moving. Best performance of the night. It'll win the Tony, no contest. Actually it will win Best Musical, and Porgy and Bess will get Best Revival. ]
And of the movies coming out this summer? The one I'm looking the most forward to? You'll never guess? That's right Rock of Ages. (Hey, I grew up in the 80s...I actually know those songs.)
The plays on the other hand look rather entertaining. Maybe I should just see a play? They tend to be shorter. I'm a fan of plays - because the action is propelled by dialogue! If you want to figure out how to write good dialogue, read plays. Lots of plays. Then try to write a few. Not screenplays. Plays. Thinking of either The Best Man or Venus in Furs.
Did manage to finally watch one of my netflix flicks - The Magical Imperium of Dr. Parnassus which is remarkable for one thing - Terry Gilliam's ability to flawlessly use four actors to perform one role, after his lead tragically died. Parnassus for those who don't already know - was Heath Ledger's last film, he died during the filming of it. It was a horrific shoot - most of it in freezing temps and in the rain, and Heath missing his family took long trips via plane back and forth from London, the US and Australia. This resulted in insane jetlag, illness, and horrific insomnia. If you think you have it bad, Heath couldn't sleep at all for a month, and in desperation over-medicated.
Heath was an amazing actor, he is almost unrecognizable in the role. And it is so different from the one he did right before it - The Joker in The Dark Knight, which he post-humnously won an Oscar for. So for that matter is Johnny Depp and Jude Law who blend flawlessly into the role and manage to look a lot like Heath. I was less impressed with Colin Farrel.
Actually the best performances are by Andrew Garfield, Christopher Plummer and Tom Waits.
Other than that? It's a boring film. Suffering from the same things Baron Muchason suffered from, as did The Brother's Grim (both far more entertaining by the way), Parnassus seems more interested in atmosphere, setting, and satire than coherent story or character. It wanders all over the place. There's something there...definitely, and it may well be brilliant, but it gets lost in all the sub-tangents that Gilliam takes you on.
Gilliam's films tend to be a bit busy. And you feel at times that you are looking a serious of interesting paintings but not watching a film.
Heath Ledger's character is the only one you can grab a hold of...but he is all over the place...and one can't help but wonder what would have happened if he hadn't died and Gilliam got to do whatever it was he wanted to do. Ledger's departure does effect the film, in an interesting way. Farrell, Law, and Depp play various versions of Ledger's embezzler Anton who is running from both the Russian Mob and the Devil - in the Imagerium mirror world that Parnassius creates. Depending on the fantasy and who he is wife, a different version of himself pops up. Valentina imagines him as Farrell, the older lady who dances with him in a world of shoes sees him as Johnny Depp, and the mob hit men see him as Jude Law.
The other characters...Valentina, Parnassus pretty daughter, Hansel - his assistant and her boyish companion (Garfield), Vern (the midget who is Parnassus' best bud) and of course Parassus (Plummer) and the Devil in the Dark blue Suit (Tom Waits). It was hard for me to care about them. Again this in part a problem with Gilliam, who is more interested in the look of his films than the content or the characters.
At any rate...I found the film disappointing and my attention kept wandering during it.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-11 04:12 am (UTC)I think my favorite Gilliam film is still Time Bandits. It had the stunning visuals and characters you cared about.
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Date: 2012-06-11 09:46 pm (UTC)