Stick
3rd May 07, 04:31 PM
So I just signed up for Vongo online movie rental/purchase/whateverthefuck, and for the most part I'm rather let down by the library of titles. What is and isn't an extra charge "pay per view" as opposed to titles I get as part of my monthly subscription is incredibly odd; sometimes a brand spanking new movie that did killer box office is free to download while some 20 year old comedy I can't even remember is listed as PPV. What the fuck?
Anyways, so grimly sifting through the list of B movies, independents, and "block busters" I stumbled across a few titles I actually was a little excited about: MirrorMask, The Brothers Grimm, Kinky Boots, and The Matador so far.
http://www.bullshido.net/gallery/data/500/mirrormask.jpgSo I figured I'd just go ahead and review them as I watch them, and first up is MirrorMask (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366780/).
I heard about this film from Neil Gaiman's own web site (http://www.neilgaiman.com/), and being a huge dork who owns all his books and is this close to finishing all of Sandman, I was very, very excited. That it was being done by the Jim Henson company intrigued me further, apparently they've branched out from straight up puppets to CGI as well and this film is a big art project for them.
When I say that, that this film is an art project, I'm not kidding. Everything is stylized and impressionist and garish and surreal. Even the scenes taking place in reality practically bleed art school all over my screen. The film seems to have given basically every sort of artist imaginable a place to play; there are drawings, animations, CGI, sculptures, make-up, costumes, even the music gets the beret wearing coffee house treatment (I never thought I'd be afraid of the Carpenter's "Close to You (http://www.amazon.com/gp/music/wma-pop-up/B0007RTARU001024/ref=mu_sam_wma_001_024/102-5586686-1988933)").
For me, modern art is a mixed bag, some I like and some falls flat and seems to call out for me to put it out of my misery. MirrorMask is no exception whatsoever; there are images here that inspire me, awe me, and thrill me, but there are also images that make me want to hunt down the name in the credits responsible and give him a kick in the face- I suppose it says something that it can inspire such violent dislike, none of the art here got a ho-hum, blasé reaction from me.
Naturally, there is also the art of the story seeing as we're talking about a Gaiman project. The plot itself is fairly simple and reminiscent of "The Never Ending Story", "Alice in Wonderland", "Chronicles of Narnia", and other such "children in a fantasy world" stories. Helena, played by the heroically named Stephanie Leonidas (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0503060/) (SPARTAAAAAAAAAAAA!), is teenage girl angry at life and her parents- naturally-, and she'd probably run away and join the circus if she didn't already live in the circus her parents run and didn't hate her life because it was in the circus.
http://www.bullshido.net/gallery/data/500/mirrormask250a.jpgOne night before getting into costume and going out on stage to juggle with her father, Helena cuts loose on her mother, responding to, "you'll be the death of me", with, "I wish I was". Naturally enough, later on in their act, Helena's mother collapses and must be rushed to the hospital.
With her mother inexplicably ill, the circus coming apart at the seems- circus folk have to perform to get money to feed their monkeys-, and her feeling incredibly guilty over all of it, Helena retreats into her art, drawing get well cards for her mother, doodles, and murals all over the upper level of her drab apartment building. Helena's room is literally wallpapered in her creations. Upon learning that her mother will be undergoing exploratory surgery, Helena goes to sleep only to find herself awake in some absurd dream world made up almost entirely of her drawings- though it takes her a moment to realize this. While she is at first certain it was a dream, events quickly play out in such a way as to make her question whether it really is all in her head.
In this bizarre art world, Helena's is the only human face, and while she seems to take it all in stride the characters she meets are all confused by her lack of a mask; everyone is either an absurd walking sculpture of oddments and junk, a complete CGI oddity, or an actor in a mask, masks ranging from paper to clay to CGI and back again. I found myself ridiculously taken with the line, "how can you trust a girl with such a changeable expression". She teams up with the loquacious juggler Valentine, played by Jason Barry (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0058029/), as she attempts to save the City of Light from the encroaching shadow that kills all those it touches (the nothing is coming for you!). As she learns more about the plight of the City of Light and its polar opposite the City of Dark it becomes clear to Helena that the threat is not what it originally seemed to be, and that she alone can restore the balance and order.
I figure that's enough of a plot synopsis for you.
The story is filled with all sorts of imaginative odds and ends such as the Very Useful Book, riddle spouting sphinxes that really aren't very bright, and the library, but odds and ends alone don't make a story. While it isn't bad, parts of it are clever, and it's told well, I just can't shake how simple the plot itself is. I suppose this is par for the course with the idea of fairy tales and all, it's just I hoped Gaiman would mix it up a little more than he did. Again, I'm not saying it's bad, it just didn't alter my perception of reality or anything.
The acting is good throughout and worth a watch what with the circus performers and fairy tale freaks. While I don't know that I'll ever get the chance again, I'd go out of my way to see some more of Stephanie Leonidas.
To sum up the art, well, it's art and lots of it. Some you will like and some you will not and I doubt very much that any two people would watch this film and come away having filed their likes and dislikes identically. As a sort of warning, I suppose, if you positively loathe Cirque du Soleil there's a good chance you won't like much of the style here.
In the end, I'll give this little fantasy romp 4 sphinx-stumping knock-knock jokes out of 5.
Anyways, so grimly sifting through the list of B movies, independents, and "block busters" I stumbled across a few titles I actually was a little excited about: MirrorMask, The Brothers Grimm, Kinky Boots, and The Matador so far.
http://www.bullshido.net/gallery/data/500/mirrormask.jpgSo I figured I'd just go ahead and review them as I watch them, and first up is MirrorMask (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366780/).
I heard about this film from Neil Gaiman's own web site (http://www.neilgaiman.com/), and being a huge dork who owns all his books and is this close to finishing all of Sandman, I was very, very excited. That it was being done by the Jim Henson company intrigued me further, apparently they've branched out from straight up puppets to CGI as well and this film is a big art project for them.
When I say that, that this film is an art project, I'm not kidding. Everything is stylized and impressionist and garish and surreal. Even the scenes taking place in reality practically bleed art school all over my screen. The film seems to have given basically every sort of artist imaginable a place to play; there are drawings, animations, CGI, sculptures, make-up, costumes, even the music gets the beret wearing coffee house treatment (I never thought I'd be afraid of the Carpenter's "Close to You (http://www.amazon.com/gp/music/wma-pop-up/B0007RTARU001024/ref=mu_sam_wma_001_024/102-5586686-1988933)").
For me, modern art is a mixed bag, some I like and some falls flat and seems to call out for me to put it out of my misery. MirrorMask is no exception whatsoever; there are images here that inspire me, awe me, and thrill me, but there are also images that make me want to hunt down the name in the credits responsible and give him a kick in the face- I suppose it says something that it can inspire such violent dislike, none of the art here got a ho-hum, blasé reaction from me.
Naturally, there is also the art of the story seeing as we're talking about a Gaiman project. The plot itself is fairly simple and reminiscent of "The Never Ending Story", "Alice in Wonderland", "Chronicles of Narnia", and other such "children in a fantasy world" stories. Helena, played by the heroically named Stephanie Leonidas (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0503060/) (SPARTAAAAAAAAAAAA!), is teenage girl angry at life and her parents- naturally-, and she'd probably run away and join the circus if she didn't already live in the circus her parents run and didn't hate her life because it was in the circus.
http://www.bullshido.net/gallery/data/500/mirrormask250a.jpgOne night before getting into costume and going out on stage to juggle with her father, Helena cuts loose on her mother, responding to, "you'll be the death of me", with, "I wish I was". Naturally enough, later on in their act, Helena's mother collapses and must be rushed to the hospital.
With her mother inexplicably ill, the circus coming apart at the seems- circus folk have to perform to get money to feed their monkeys-, and her feeling incredibly guilty over all of it, Helena retreats into her art, drawing get well cards for her mother, doodles, and murals all over the upper level of her drab apartment building. Helena's room is literally wallpapered in her creations. Upon learning that her mother will be undergoing exploratory surgery, Helena goes to sleep only to find herself awake in some absurd dream world made up almost entirely of her drawings- though it takes her a moment to realize this. While she is at first certain it was a dream, events quickly play out in such a way as to make her question whether it really is all in her head.
In this bizarre art world, Helena's is the only human face, and while she seems to take it all in stride the characters she meets are all confused by her lack of a mask; everyone is either an absurd walking sculpture of oddments and junk, a complete CGI oddity, or an actor in a mask, masks ranging from paper to clay to CGI and back again. I found myself ridiculously taken with the line, "how can you trust a girl with such a changeable expression". She teams up with the loquacious juggler Valentine, played by Jason Barry (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0058029/), as she attempts to save the City of Light from the encroaching shadow that kills all those it touches (the nothing is coming for you!). As she learns more about the plight of the City of Light and its polar opposite the City of Dark it becomes clear to Helena that the threat is not what it originally seemed to be, and that she alone can restore the balance and order.
I figure that's enough of a plot synopsis for you.
The story is filled with all sorts of imaginative odds and ends such as the Very Useful Book, riddle spouting sphinxes that really aren't very bright, and the library, but odds and ends alone don't make a story. While it isn't bad, parts of it are clever, and it's told well, I just can't shake how simple the plot itself is. I suppose this is par for the course with the idea of fairy tales and all, it's just I hoped Gaiman would mix it up a little more than he did. Again, I'm not saying it's bad, it just didn't alter my perception of reality or anything.
The acting is good throughout and worth a watch what with the circus performers and fairy tale freaks. While I don't know that I'll ever get the chance again, I'd go out of my way to see some more of Stephanie Leonidas.
To sum up the art, well, it's art and lots of it. Some you will like and some you will not and I doubt very much that any two people would watch this film and come away having filed their likes and dislikes identically. As a sort of warning, I suppose, if you positively loathe Cirque du Soleil there's a good chance you won't like much of the style here.
In the end, I'll give this little fantasy romp 4 sphinx-stumping knock-knock jokes out of 5.