favorite movie #91 - halloween edition: only lovers left alive

Favorite movies that have had an impact on me - #91 - Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) - I love this beautiful movie. I have written about it at length before. Here is a snippet from that earlier article:

Jim Jarmusch's Only Lovers Left Alive is an extremely romantic film. It has been dubbed his "vampire movie." but it is less a horror film and more a romance that concerns two vampires. Tom Hiddleston and Tilda Swinton are Adam and Eve, a (really) old married couple. They live a world away from each other, he in Detroit, and she in Tangier, Morocco, but are inextricably linked. ...

The film is gorgeous to look at, with cinematography by Yorick Le Saux. The world of the film only exists as night, naturally, and Jarmusch (Night on Earth) is an excellent director to highlight the shadows and mysteries of sunless streets, cities at night. Vampires don't need to do housekeeping or even comb their hair, and the set and costume design renders their dusty and cluttered surfaces and persons in loving detail. The film moves slowly and elegantly, much like its protagonists — that is, until chaos, in the form of Eve's younger "sister" Ava (Mia Wasikowska) turns up. ...

You can read the whole review here.

Happy Halloween!

hercules and dwayne johnson have fun with a classic

The kid and I checked out Hercules this weekend and were very presently surprised. I guess I should say that I was presently surprised, the kid just loved it. In fact, she loved seeing it on Friday so much that we went back the next day and took in the IMAX 3D version. I'm not usually very fond of 3D, but love the sheer scale of IMAX. I actually preferred the film in 2D, however. Hercules is a good-looking film, and the 3D, while it may have made some of the battle scenes more visceral, ended up distracting me from the overall action and and cinematographer's composition.

Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) in search of the Hydra

Hercules was directed by Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand, Tower Heist, Horrible Bosses), who has a penchant for overblown actioners, and based on a comic book Hercules: The Thracian Wars by Steve Moore. While some critics have complained that the famous labors of Hercules which spin by quickly in the film's trailer appear just as quickly in the film, that is not quite a fair criticism. It is true that this version of Hercules's story tends to spin the Greek hero's legend on its head, portraying Hercules as just one member of a team of elite mercenaries. The band of brothers (and one sister), with the aid of some skillful publicity, has spun the story of his godly parentage and fantastic exploits to their great (monetary) reward. But fans of Greek mythology will notice some sly nods to both Herc's adventures as well as some other famous Greek heroes — and the movies made about them — especially in a powerful scene where warriors rise from the ground a la the classic Jason and the Argonauts. And what is mythology anyway, but a constant reinterpretation of a classic story?

The Nemean Lion hat and club are just too cool

This film's Hercules, played by Dwayne Johnson, may be quite human, but his physique is certainly larger-than-life. Johnson has said he trained harder for this role than any other, and the results are truly impressive, as his Hercules is, without question, the film's most special effect.

"I trained and worked harder than ever for 8 months for this role. Lived alone and locked myself away (like a moody 260-lb. monk) in Budapest for 6 months while filming. Goal was to completely transform into this character. Disappear in the role. Press journalist asked me today, with the mental & physical toll the role had on me, would I do it again? Not only would I do it again ... I'd do it f*cking twice."

As fun as it is to watch Johnson take on the role of Greek's strongest hero, what really makes the film are all the wonderful actors that surround him. Hercules's traveling companions include Ian McShane as the seer Amphiaraus (who also knows how to wield a long spear); Rufus Sewell as the smart-talking Autolycus, who is very handy with a blade; Norwegian actors Ingrid Bolsø Berdal as the huntress Atalanta, whose bow can be used to take down enemies as much as her arrows, and Aksel Hennie as Tydeus, who suffers from an ancient form of PTSD; and Reece Ritchie as Iolaus, his young nephew, whose tales of his uncle's exploits serve as his calling card. The group forms a tight unit, and their humor and camaraderie helps make them a more convincing and engaging group of super-heroes than the Avengers.

The gang's all here: L-R: (Tydeus) Aksel Hennie, (Atalanta) Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Hercules, Iolaus (Reece Ritchie), Autolycus (Rufus Sewell), and Amphiaraus (Ian McShane)

Herc and Co. are just about to hang up their weapons and head for a well-earned retirement when Lady Ergenia (Rebecca Ferguson) approaches them to take on one last (and very lucrative) job — to aid her father, Lord Cotys (John Hurt), whose land has been besieged by a mysterious enemy named Rhesus (Tobias Santelmann). It's a pretty basic adventure movie set-up, but things move swiftly and entertainingly, with some humor and even a few surprises. Joseph Fiennes turns up as one of Herc's previous employers, King Eurystheus of Athens. It's great to see him and especially great to watch John Hurt once again don the robes of a classical-era character. Johnson's Hercules is haunted by his past — he woke one evening to find his wife Megara and their children murdered. He has been trying to atone for his alleged crimes ever since.

So lovely to see you: John Hurt as Lord Cotys

Although everyone adds to the proceedings, Ian McShane almost steals the show with his wry Amphiaraus, who has prophesied his own death, but so far hasn't seemed to time it precisely:

[A flaming javelin comes flying towards Amphiaraus, who spreads his arms wide, ready to receive the blow]
Amphiaraus, "My time ..."
[Hercules runs past him, grabs the javelin, and throws it back]
Amphiaraus, "Do you mind? I was having a moment!"
Hercules, "You're welcome."

The rugged locations (filming was done in Hungary and Croatia) add a lot to the atmosphere, but it is the non-stop action, Johnson's huge musculature, and clever twists on a well-known story that really make Hercules so much fun.

just when you thought this obsession with vampires was completely played out ...

You had me at Hiddleston. And Swinton. And Jarmusch. And then you threw in the big gun. John Hurt. Only Lovers Left Alive. Let's get a U.S. release date already.

sherlock holmes and the cult of personality

How much of our love of movies and television is based on some indefinable desire, or connection, with certain actors? We may get excited by certain themes and characters and genres, but usually what gets us into the seats are the actors.

Holmes and Watson share a drink

I really enjoyed the latest Sherlock Holmes movie, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows with Robert Downey, Jr. He is more over-the-top than ever in this steampunky, semi-anachronistic, but always fun action movie mash-up. The camera loves him, whether he is in drag or sporting a completely (deliberately) transparent disguise. There are some great action sequences and snappy dialogue. The other actors are all top-notch, too. Jude Law returns as Dr. Watson and he and Downey, Jr. still have a wonderful rapport. Director Guy Ritchie is happy to give them plenty of opportunity to banter between and during the highly choreographed fight sequences.

Watson watches Holmes take a drink, "You're drinking embalming fluid?"
Holmes, "Yes. Care for a drop?"
Watson, "You do seem ..."
Holmes, "Excited?"
Watson, "Manic."
Holmes, "I am."
Watson, "Verging on ..."
Holmes, "Ecstatic?"
Watson, "Psychotic. I should've brought you a sedative."

Rachel McAdams is also back, albeit too briefly, as Holmes's bad girl love interest, Irene Adler. Stephen Fry gives Downey, Jr. a run for his scene-stealing money with his version of Holmes's smarter (and apparently nudist) brother Mycroft, who calls his brother "Sherly." Noomi Rapace is appealing as the Gypsy Simza and Jared Harris is excellent as a very sinister and sociopathic Moriarty. But what is best about the film, what the film is truly about, is Downey's performance. That is what brings the most joy, why tickets and popcorn were purchased.

"You know, he's nothing like as slow witted as you've been leading me to believe, Sherly. "

Downey Jr. is not only helping to give Ritchie the directing career he has always wanted and for which he showed promise, but his surprise success as Ironman has also revitalized (for better or worse) super heroes at the movies. It's as if the world has finally discovered this charismatic and humorous actor, although he has been doing impressive work for years (Chaplin, Restoration, The Soloist, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Due Date, Tropic Thunder, etc.) He is comfortable in both leading and supporting roles, but there is no denying that Downey Jr. is an actor that people will go to the movies expressly to see. Ritchie has cannily combined Downey Jr's watchability with a character that also has a built-in audience, Sherlock Holmes — jackpot.

Downey Jr. as Iron Man

So how much of watching and loving movies and television is tied up with the cult of personality? When I think of some of my favorite actors I have to admit that although they are different from role to role, there is something, some element of their personality, that is also always there, and that I just like. I like them. And if the movie or television show or theater piece that they are appearing in sounds halfway decent (or even if it doesn't) they are usually enough to get me there. I would watch Derek Jacobi in anything. Or John Hurt, Gary Oldman, Meryl Streep, Sean Bean or Steve Buscemi. Luckily for me, they have showing up in some amazing pieces lately, Game of Thrones (Bean), Boardwalk Empire (Buscemi), The Iron Lady (Streep), Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (Oldman and Hurt). I want to see Johnny Depp's new movies, even the awful misfires he's been making lately with best bud Tim Burton. I'm still trying to erase Willy Wonka and the Mad Hatter from my memory. They better not screw up Barnabas Collins in the upcoming Dark Shadows. Some other personalities that I keep an eye out for are Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Owen Wilson, Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson and Helen Mirren.

As Charlie Chaplin

My cult of personalities doesn't just apply to current actors. I grew up watching black and white movies on television with the old man, who loved all the '30s gangster movies. I inherited his love of Humphrey Bogart — I never quite got to like Jimmy Cagney or George Raft — sorry, dad. I still love Bogie, who was both a great actor and a great personality. His Rick Blaine is a very different man from his Sam Spade or Captain Queeg or Dixon Steele, and yet all of those characters are somehow still Bogie, too.

I don't think my liking of the actor or actress diminishes their talent. Likability is what makes an actor a star, versus just a good actor. There are plenty of very good, talented actors out there, some who have even had Hollywood careers, but maybe never became big stars. Actors like Jimmy Stewart, Paul Newman, Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra are all talented, but they also have that something extra that makes us connect with them as people. We like looking at them. One of the reasons different projects keep trying to capture Marilyn Monroe and can't quite completely is that she, her personality, was unique and special. Michelle Williams may get close, but she can't help but bring her own Michelle William-ness to her depiction. This applies to Downey Jr.'s excellent portrayal of Charlie Chaplin, as well.

Robert Downey Jr., through the force of his personality and likability, has gone from being comic relief in early projects like Back to School and Johnny Be Good and "actor's actor" movies like Chaplin to become a bona fide movie star. There is already talk of a third movie in the works. Bravo, Downey Jr. Looking forward to wherever your personality takes you and us next.

it john hurts so good

I first fell in love with John Hurt when he was Caligula in I, Claudius. Kinda weird, huh? Maybe. But he was attractive and repulsive and intimidating and pathetic—it was an amazing performance.




John Hurt became famous with American audiences (he already was in his native Britain) after one of the most memorable (and also terrifying and disgusting) scenes in movie history in Alien, which led to his Oscar-nominated turn as The Elephant Man. Both of these are great performances, and get to what Hurt is always able to convey—an empathy, a vulnerability—whether hidden under tons of rubber make-up or giving virtual birth to an alien. There is always a double-edge to Hurt's roles, a mixture of fragility and steel, sometimes quite lethal.

One of my favorite Hurt movies is  Cry of the Penguins, a little-known film about a smart-aleck skirt chaser who ends up studying penguins in the Antarctic in order to impress a girl. He ends up changed, and the filming of the penguins in their natural habitat is right up there with recent crowd favorite March of the Penguins. I also remember Hurt in a PBS miniseries Crime and Punishment, where he played the despicable and pathetic Raskolnikov. It was truly a love/hate to watch the actor as Dostoyevsky's anti-hero. One of my all-time favorites of Hurt's and one of the hippest gangster movies ever,  is The Hit, which also stars Terence Stamp and Tim Roth.




Happily for all, as evidenced by his resume on imdb, Hurt works constantly. It would be easy and delightful to construct a John Hurt-athon. A movie buff could keep busily entertained for weeks with such movies as Scandal, Dead Man, The Osterman Weekend, V for Vendetta, Love and Death on Long Island, The Field, White Mischief ...

If a lighter mood is called for, one could watch him in Spaceballs (spoofing his role in Alien), or as the Storyteller in Jim Henson's The Storyteller. That series is one of the best things done by Henson & Co. It's a wonderful mix of animation and puppetry and great acting. Besides Hurt, Brenda Blethyn, Miranda Richardson, Jonathan Pryce, Jane Horrocks and Sean Bean also appear. And of course, even the youngest in the house recognize Hurt these days as Mr Ollivander, Harry Potter's inimitable purveyor of wands and owner of "Ollivander's, Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C."Even in that small role Hurt is able to convey kindly and creepy, with the slightest inflection. He just makes me smile to watch him, whether his character is being good or very, very bad.




The only downside to Hurt's extensive list of roles is that it's hard to know where to start ... Do I dig out the Potter dvds? The Storyteller? I, Claudius? A fabulous problem.

Related articles

• Movie Trailer: 'Brighton Rock' (slashfilm.com)
• Toby Jones, John Hurt And Stephen Graham Join The Packed Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (cinemablend.com)
• ABC Family Set to Premiere the Half-Hour Animated Film, 'The Gruffalo' on December 9 (tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com)
• Alien: Story of a scene (guardian.co.uk)