CINEMA OF THE IMAGINATION: FANTASY.
THE COMPANY WOLVES.
A memorable cinematic highlight of the 1980's came in the form of director Neil Jordan's The Company of Wolves, based on a script written by Angela Carter, who wrote the short- story on which the film is partly based. The story involves an imaginative, curious, and repressed young girl named Rosaleen (Sarah Patterson), who escapes the confines of our world via dreams, and finds herself in a fairy-tale forest during the 18th century.
In this fairy-tale world, Rosaleen has new parents and a sister, but after her sister is killed by wolves she has to stay with her grandmother (Angela Lansbury), who tells her to be aware of men whose eyebrows meet in the middle.
Rosaleen later takes a walk through the forest and bumps into the local huntsman, who happens to fit the description her grandmother described, and whom she is reluctantly attracted too, but the huntsman isn't everything he seems.
Writer Angela Carter, clearly inspired by classic fairy-tale Little Red Riding Hood, has written a story about passion, lust, and desire wrapped around an allegorical fairy-tale setting, which has some feministic subtext. Fairy tales or re-imaginings of them, and there transition to film has been patchy to say the least, but The Company of Wolves is one example that does its source material justice both 'The Little Red Riding Hood' fairy-tale and the 'The Bloody Chamber' by Angela Carter.
That being said, I believe when any literary source is brought to the big screen visually, cinema steals it, reshapes it, and consequently the film itself becomes its own work, with its own rules, and it's debatable just how much of the message of the source material has been diluted when transferred to the realm of film.
Cinema is governed by imagery of all kinds, and The Company of Wolves is a particularly well designed (for its time) fantasy-horror hybrid which appeals to audiences based on its visual craft, and as a result, we may overlook its intelligent subtext and themes.Is there anything right or wrong with cinema doing this ? Absolutely not, but much of the sexual politics of infused in novels take on a different form when presented visually on the screen, in my opinion.
Director Neil Jordan brings his visual flair to 'The Company of Wolves' and Angela Carter provides the substance, and it's a winning combination that works.
On the critical side, Neil Jordan has produced a very fine film visually, which captures the spirit of the short-story within the book 'The Bloody Chamber, but it feels a little thin emotionally. Anton Furst's beautifully designed sets, though a visual delight, have started to show their age too, possibly due to budget restrictions (you can tell you're viewing a studio set, a little too much).
Overall, an intelligent allegorical fantasy film that has stood the test of time.
THERE IS NO GENE FOR THE HUMAN SPIRIT.
Gattaca (1997)
In a genetically engineered future, where some children are conceived through eugenics to ensure they have perfect genes and traits, biologically conceived Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) finds himself in an unfortunate predicament.
Estranged from his family, Vincent finds himself working in an unfulfilling job, and finds an opportunity to pretend he's got the desired genetic code, so he can join the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation. He does this with help from Jerome Morrow (Jude Law), who cannot join the Gattaca, due to being paralysed because of an accident, yet has the desired genetic code nonetheless.
Subsequently, the film follows Vincent on his quest through this modified societies ranks, and along the way, Vincent develops a love interest in Gattaca employee Irene Cassini played by Uma Thurman, whom he meets at the corporation. Things get tense, however, when someone is murdered at the corporation, and Vincent is in the spotlight of a police investigation. To complicate matters further, one of the police officers heading the investigation, Anton (Loren Dean), has a suspicion about Vincent that may prove personal.
Gattaca is that all to rare example of an intelligent science fiction film. It’s a perfectly conceived film, both with attention to detail and flair. Despite the elaborate plot and surroundings, the core of the films plot is quite straightforward, and is basically about the yearning to be wanted or excepted in life or to find validation and meaning - especially in the form of love or by a family.
Gattaca is a prime example of elaborately conceived science fiction cinema that really just reflects the most ordinary aspects of the human condition: there is no gene for the human spirit.
The best science fiction films, like Interstellar, explore the human condition not outer space. There is nothing to be found in space, only lots of black empty space.
Gattaca also has a very memorable, and emotive score by Michael Nyman
They Live (1988)
Director John Carpenter brought this science fiction classic to the screen back in 1988, and it feels more relevant today than ever before.
Wrestler turned actor Roddy Piper plays an unnamed-down on us luck- drifter who finds a box of sunglasses which allows him to see the world around him for what it really is. In this instance, the world is revealed to be a consumer driven society, controlled by creepy blue goggle eyed-skeletal looking aliens, who are devoid of conscience, morality and above all individuality.
The aliens in ‘They Live’ are controlling people to keep up the status quo simply because they can and are able to do so by subliminally encouraging spending, breeding, fear, greed and conformity, amongst a plethora of other agendas.
It's entertaining and enjoyable science fiction, and it's very effective with its message, which is a parable on consumerism and media control.
They Live, is well crafted, acted, and directed, and also profound and allegorical. So much so, it made me consider if the film and the novel it's based on are rooted in any kind of real-life event. After all, we do take our ruling powers at face value as we do the paradigm of our own existence, so it's not without possibility that we could all be being governed by aliens.
Re-Animator
DEATH IS JUST THE BEGINNING
Re-animator: Now if there ever was a cinematic rites of passage movie, it would be Re-Animator. It's the film everyone watched during their teens, and if you haven't you should.
The story follows mad scientist Herbert West (Jeffrey Combs) as he creates a re-agent which can re-animate deceased human corpses.
This really is a cult masterpiece, and despite the at times blackly comic tone, the film is quite unsettling, and the character of Herbert West is akin to Dr Frankenstein on acid. In the sense, he has an unwieldy and obsessive nature, but he's also passionate and quite brilliant, which makes him likeable in a strange anti-hero sort of way.
He’s clearly evil, but has a good scientific mind, which is admirable, but he's only motivated by the re-animation of corpses, and has little to no respect for them on any spiritual or human level.
Sadly, like all the greatest minds, his own obsession quickly becomes his downfall.
There’s something heretical about the psyche of one who is driven by the pursuit of re-animating dead corpses just for their own scientific curiosity, with no care about the consequences or respect for the reanimated bodies, which I find fascinating in a literary sense.
Re-Animator is devoid of romanticism or beauty; it's quite ugly and cold, and the character of Herbert West is so devoid of morality he feels reptilian and sub-human.
It's this sordid subtext present in the film that make it quite chilling and disturbing, despite the comedy and fun moments.
Overall, a cult classic that should be seen and enjoyed by everybody.
THE BLACKCOAT'S DAUGHTER (2015)
Contrary to popular belief, there has been a cinematic tradition of releasing some darker films during the winter season, with films like Black Christmas and Misery.
The Blackcoat's Daughter (2015) is one such Winter set film, but it’s much better than those films.
The film tells the story of Kat (Kiernan Shipka) who, whilst at a prestigious boarding school during Winter, becomes haunted by a dark presence/spirit.
The film parallels another story involving older- 20 - something- Joan (Emma Roberts) who, after sitting out in the cold waiting for a bus alone, is offered a safe journey to her destination by Bill (James Remar) and Linda (Lauren Holly) in their car, but all is not what is seems.
The Blackcoat's Daughter is a stylish, original, and interesting independent movie from relatively new director Osgood Perkins (son of actor/director Anthony Perkins) and, like his father, has an offbeat way of telling a story, and a unique visual eye.
I thought Anthony Perkins directorial work in Psycho 3 was pretty decent and had some unique visual touches and themes, especially a critical religious subtext which I admired.
The Blackcoat's Daughter's narrative is deliberately loose and slightly non-linear as it cross cuts between different characters sporadically. It's also very stylistic in both delivery, mood, and the way the story is constructed, and there is a stylistic nod to a well-known Alfred Hitchcock film present in some scenes too.
I couldn't fault The Blackcoat's Daughter, and I particularly liked the films conclusion, and the this overarching feeling of a director just letting his imagination flow without feeling governed by any particular conventional boxes.
Actress Emma Roberts has an offbeat screen presence which has led to her starring in many quirky dramas and projects including Scream Queens, and the excellent film Nerve; she was a smart choice to pair up with Kiernan Shipka who shares the same quirky qualities, and who is currently making waves as Sabrina The Teenage Witch on Netflix.
Overall, The Blackcoat's Daughter is an interesting and off-beat divergence into the mysterious and otherworldly set against a cold winter back drop, which benefits from a strong cast, and offers an introduction to a new filmmaker who shows great promise.
"The sweet is never as sweet without the sour."
VANILLA SKY (2001)
Vanilla Sky is a U.S remake of the 1997 Spanish film Open Your Eyes, which also starred Penelope Cruz.
I wasn't bowled over by Vanilla Sky back in 2001. Nevertheless, Vanilla Sky has grown on me over the years, and I think it needs critical re-appraisal.
Vanilla Sky starts with rich playboy heir to a book publishing firm David Aames (Tom Cruise), now in a prison wearing a mask, telling us of his personal downfall, his arrogance, and his object of desire Sophia (Penelope Cruz).
As the story progresses we learn of David's mistakes, his toxic relationships, and his vulnerability, and we learn everything and everyone in his life story may not be what they seem in reality.
I love the themes present in Vanilla Sky, and the fantasy notion that we can create our own environments artificially, yet mimic the same real-life emotions and feelings.
Incidentally, the film channels similar ideas to those later explored in the the science-fiction drama Source Code. This notion that we can create our own ideals safely without constraint, using the never-ending cycle of our own imaginations combined with technology.
Technology aside, Vanilla Sky is really alluding to the nature of unrequited love, and the pain and suffering that comes with our inability to reach our greatest romantic ideals.
They don't real exist do they?
As a stylish, yet very melancholic exploration of technology, fantasy, and unrequited love Vanilla Sky is amongst the best. However, it's also an equal to its excellent Spanish counterpart, so as a remake it's an equal in my view.
Event Horizon (1998)
Event Horizon is not as bad as the mainstream critics' suggested.
Released in 1998, it did very poorly at the box-office, which is great shame as it deserved box-office success.
The story follows a group of astronauts led by Captain Miller (Lawrence Fishburne), who find themselves exploring a mysterious spaceship, the Event Horizon, which has just appeared in orbit, after being declared lost for years. We later learn the Event Horizon was responsible for creating a rift in space, and it's alluded to that the ship may have entered hell via this rift or allowed a demonic entity on-board.
I just love the concepts explored in Event Horizon, and for the most part the film delivers on them quite well. My only criticism is it doesn't explore its dark themes deep enough.
Essentially, there is a passage way into Hell via a rift in outer space. So we can enter hell. There is just something more interesting in the concept of hell than heaven.
What do we do in heaven? Meet all our ideals that we could not in life. Where there is no pain, there is no honesty or sincerity concerning the human condition.
Having all my best intentions for-filled in paradise just sounds like Hell, or worst, as I know it would not be genuine. Our paradise is that of our own making, and it sucks when it does not go our way, but that is just the way it goes until you get it right.
Life's sick sense of humour often gives you just enough time to get everything your heart desires or a close second or third,and then your heart literally fails either in the moment or at some later stage of life, and the curtains close really quickly and for all eternity.
That is why it is crucial people loosen up.
Where there is no recognition of pain & suffering, there is no respect or understanding of life period. Anyone who feels otherwise is a fool.
I don't believe in heaven or hell, but I find the concept of hell more realistic and relatable on a human level. I think darker films are more honest and relatable and I think darker subject matter is more honest and relatable. That is why I suggest Horror is the most human of film genres and the most important of them all.
Event Horizon is one of many movies that delves into the notion of Hell, a place where you
express the hurt you feel inside and do not conceal it through shame.
Like all films which are willing to explore interesting dark themes, it clearly suffers from some generic and forced producer/studio intervention, which has moulded aspects of the film to fit mass-audience conventions. This aside, there is enough mood, and style present here to carry this film through.
The set design is particularly well done and effective. It is a briskly paced film, and aesthetically feels almost like an industrial techno rock music video meets Hellraiser in outer-space. It also benefits from a decent score, and soundtrack which includes the music of Orbital.
If you approach Event Horizon as undemanding science fiction fun, then it doesn't disappoint.
Overall, a very atmospheric and at times disturbing science fiction horror film that has steadily grown in appreciation over the years to become a cult classic.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
If there ever was a novel tailor made for Tim Burton, it would be Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by author Ransom Riggs.
Troubled young Jake (Asa Butterfield), upon travelling to Cairn Holm, Wales seeking answers surrounding the death of his grandfather in mysterious circumstances, discovers, through way of a of a portal hidden amongst some caves, the enchanting home of Miss Peregrine (Eva Green) and her fellow peculiars who remain in a perpetual time loop set on one day, Sept 3,1943, a time where the peculiars remain to avoid persecution due to their indifference and appearance, and evade Hollows (eyeball consuming monsters).
This is the perfect source material for director Tim Burton, and he does an excellent job of bringing all these peculiar characters together, whilst adding more than a little Gothic horror to the mix.
The peculiars on display here are a multitude of colourful characters, including a girl that can manipulate air and breath underwater, a child with superhuman strength, a boy with bees in his stomach, and a young girl with an extra mouth in the back of her head.
It's not Tim Burton's best narratively driven film - something is a miss with the stories narrative drive - and it just doesn't engage the way it should, but it
is amongst Tim Burton's most visually superior films, and he's succeeded in bringing the popular book of the title to life.
US actor Asa Butterfield doesn't have strong chemistry with the rest of the cast who really capture these characters vividly. Despite the source material being written by an American, the script was written by Jane Goldman, and feels British, and finds itself in none other than Blackpool Pleasure Beach in its final half. So sadly, in my opinion, American actor Asa Butterfield was miscast (he just doesn't seem passionate about the project and appears unenthusiastic throughout, whilst everyone else is smiling). It is Jake's journey which is at the heart of this story, and due to a undesirably misfit performance from this actor, we don't fully get on-board with the drive of the narrative as audiences.
Nevertheless, there is enough visual imagination, and solid acting from the rest of the cast to make this worth your while, but it would have been so much better if the producers had not succumb to the pressure of hiring a currently popular actor. Over used populist actress Judi Dench crops up in the middle also, and this is awkward too, and feels woefully unnecessary.
Overall, despite by reservations, I really liked this movie, and think its a strong return to form for director Tim Burton, who I feel, lost his way just a little in recent years, and has back on track.
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017)
Disney's Beauty and the Beast, based on the classic 18th century fairy-tale, and, indeed, the 1991 musical animated classic of the same name, tells the story of Belle (Emma Watson), a well read, and popular girl from the small town of Villeneuve, who finds herself encountering a well-spoken yet unhappy Beast (Dan Stevens) who lives in large castle.
Belle discovers that the beast was really an arrogant prince, who has had a spell cast on him which states he must find love before the last petal of a rose, kept in a jar within the castle, falls.
Walt Disney are an important and respectable studio in cinema, and they’ve been going through a live-action renaissance period in recent years, with The Lion King due out soon and Aladdin.
It has been a good time for the studio to re-imagine their earlier works, whilst channelling this market for nostalgia that’s fuelling cinema and television right now.
Why are they important?
The studio developed a tasteful, expertly crafted formula that worked, which re-imagined classic stories and created some of its own; the films would utilise beautifully hand drawn animation with layered voice acting, bringing these imaginative eye-catching creations to life with all the colours of the rainbow.
As per usual, 2017’s Beauty and The Beast offers solid film-making, which sticks to the Disney formula, but isn’t afraid to modernise it. The film is visually lush, with great sets and costumes and the cast all look the part, and perform the films songs and their roles with passion.
Actress, Emma Watson was just the right choice for Belle, and in many ways her energetic performance feels like a Disney illustration come to life.
The live-action adaptations of Disney classics will continue into 2019 and beyond, with Tim Burton’s Dumbo being released in March, and judging by the trailer it looks great.
WILLOW (1987)
Willow came out in 1987 and wasn’t a huge commercial hit, but I think it should have been.
Its grown into something of a cult film over the years and it’s easy to see why. Whatever Willow lacks as a film, it makes up with it with charm in spades. It’s just very charming and well-crafted film, and feels genuine. As I understand it, producer George Lucas could not obtain the rights for ‘The Lord of the Rings’ at the time, but wanted to make a similarly themed fantasy film.
There’s clearly a Tolkien-esque vibe running through this film, and an attempt to capture the spirit of such works. The characters are human, with flaws, not idealistic or two dimensional, and if this isn't present in the screenplay, then it is present in the casts delivery.
I love composer James Horner’s ethereal score (particularly composition Elora Danan). It is a very beautiful score, and there is some excellent use of practical effects too (a breathe of fresh-air from the over processed CGI look), as well as an overall feeling of magic and wonder.
The actors playing the Nelwyn Dwarfs, are perfectly cast, and really add layers to the film. Actress Joanne Whalley was memorable as Sorsha, the confused daughter to evil Queen Bavmorda.
Overall, Willow just has lots of charm, and cinematic energy which lifts it far above works of a similar ilk, and it is complemented by some imaginative, and beautifully shot cinematography.
As a film and fantasy fan, I'm surprised at the attention Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films received. I thought they were over-rated. Things improved a lot with the Hobbit trilogy, but they were not classics, and swamped in computer generated imagery. It just leaves a film without charm and harms the natural image captured in traditional cinematography.
