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May
26thMacabre Indulgence (Dark Shadows)
I’m Tim Burton, and I have ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS! WHAT WILL I DO WITH IT?? Johnny Depp: Dude, let’s make a movie where I get to wear makeup and be fucking eccentric. Tim Burton: Okay! ************************************* Spoilers ahead! No one can deny that Tim Burton films are fun romps through the land of Over the Top™. He’s got an eye for cinematic beauty, though in an admittedly non-traditional way. This film, like a lot of his recent fare, is definitely “fun,” and has some of the best and most seamless effects that I must assume were a combination of physical makeup effects and really top-notch CG. Tim Burton has amazing attention to most of the details in this film. It takes place in 1972, and every little detail in the town of Collinsport, Maine, the film’s setting, just screams “We’re in the 70s!” I laughed out loud when they passed by the movie theatre of the town and it proclaimed DELIVERANCE: with Burt Reynolds! The costumes are so supremely well-done. I hope that Michelle Pfeiffer got to keep her outfits and jewelry. I would have written it into my contract fo’ sho’. Of course Danny Elfman did the music, but they’ve also clearly paid a LOT for the soundtrack, which is AMAZING! I wouldn’t be surprised if the music budget alone was $3M, but, like Mad Men’s usage of “Lady Lazarus,” the money was well-spent. There were some funny jokes in the film, too, but if you’ve seen the trailer, you’ve […]
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May
23rdSnakes on a Cross!
Andrew Lloyd Webber hates musicals. I don’t say this because he’s a hateful man, but he writes impossible musicals. After seeing Jesus Christ Superstar for the first time live last month on Broadway, my thoughts on ALW are only confirmed. This musical has suffered some scathing reviews (New Yorker, New York Times) but I wonder if the complaints about this musical are really not more a reflection of the musical itself, instead of this production? I don’t know who decides to write a musical about Jesus. Let alone the days that lead up to Jesus’ famous demise. Of course not all musicals are full of happiness and singing and dancing… lots of famous musicals have brutal third acts … but as a subject matter, it’s a difficult one. Then factor in the era in which it was made, and that 70’s flash doesn’t really go with Jesustime leprosy and brutalism. So just as a musical CONCEPT it starts off extremely strained. The idea of Disco Jesus Death is ridiculous, so when you’re putting on its musical representation, you might as well go WAY over the top. À la Samuel L Jackson in Snakes on a Plane! If no one thinks you’re taking yourself seriously, they’ll be less judgmental. That must have been the rationale for this production. But does it pay off? From the top, the post-Apocalyptic wardrobes, news ticker informing the audience of the Crucifixion Countdown, and video screen backdrop, the production team lets you know RIGHT AWAY that you are in for a DISCO CRUCIFIXION […]
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Mar
5thWoman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe
MEGA SPOILERS AHEAD. BEWAREZ. I should preface this by saying that I am not a connoisseur of scary movies. I nearly leap out of my skin at your average Doctor Who episode, and I consider “Silence of the Lambs” to be nearly too scary. But I love Harry Potter, and I was curious to see what Daniel Radcliffe could do since I “missed out” on seeing him <s>naked</s> in Equus while it was in New York, and I’m not a big enough masochist to go to see How to Succeed in Business without really Trying. Then I see the previews for “Woman in Black” and hey, I can tolerate a scary movie for DRad, right? Until my best friend Lauren told me that she’d seen the play version of Woman in Black in London, and that it haunted her, even 13 years after viewing. I asked her what could have been so bad: did everyone die? And she said that the ending was WORSE than death. What could be worse than death? I know it isn’t cake! Her chilling tale gave me pause — what, exactly, had I signed up for? I decided to go to a 10pm showing at the local Alamo Drafthouse, because they sell you tasty food and drink, and how scary can a movie be if I’m getting to eat fried pickles during it? The previews should have been warning enough. Previews are built around expected target audiences, so they’re a good portent for whether you’re going to enjoy a movie because […]