I am officially in the long list of people eagerly awaiting Mr. Tim Burton's newest creation: Alice in Wonderland. Unsurprisingly he is using some of his favourite cast to recreate this children's classic story, with a dark side of course.
If you have been in a hole for the last year, I will enlighten you. Burton uses a technique of combining live action and animation to create an updated version of the original stories Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Caroll. Johnny Depp plays the Mad Hatter, whilst Burton's wife, Helena Bonham Carter plays the rather terrifying Queen of Hearts (see images above).
The film is out in the UK, nationwide on March 5th, 2010. And of course 2010 is the era of 3D cinema, so of course this is the only way to watch Alice in Wonderland. Maybe even IMAX if the budget stretches...hmmm...
Paul Arden unfortunately passed away last year. But he was and still remains, a great asset to the design world. His book It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want To Be is my personal bible. Full of inspiration and feel good factors, it helps you through creative uncertainty and gives you the positivity you need to go the extra mile.
Interestingly enough, I discovered that Arden made a film called The Man Who Couldn't Open Doors. This I feel is in the same vein as his bestselling book and something that is very relevant to my experiences at the moment. I am looking for a job after the company I worked for went into liquidation just before Christmas. This is exactly what I am trying to do: open doors.
In this industry it is not easy, many of these metaphorical 'doors' being firmly closed to new graduates and inexperienced newcomers. And in the current economical job drought that we find ourselves in, in Britain, it is much more difficult to cut the mustard...which I just googled and ironically is a graphic design agency! Showing how flooded the market already is.
The short film that Arden produced is beautifully shot, with a great soundtrack and a strong art house suspense to it. A good measure of humour is also thrown in which I find always helps with the witty narration. Enjoy it for yourself below.
David Lynch has outdone himself here with an epic, chilling film about...well I don't know. The truth is I have no idea. It is so complex and flitting that the true meaning of the story is very hard to get at. Its core plot is based around cast and crew who are making a film which is said to be cursed. All the lead roles who have played the film have died under suspicious circumstances in the past.
Lynch makes it very difficult to distinguish dream from reality and from reality to script. The whole film grips the viewer from start to finish despite it being three hours long and leaves you with a dizzy feeling. I was totally speechless. I didn't even know the questions to ask to begin to understand the film, and I think that it's because of this that the film is such a success.
The film is both written and directed by Lynch and stars a spattering of big hollywood names such as William H. Macy which disappointingly is seen as much in the film as in the trailer. Jeremy Irons plays a small but important role, whilst the rest of the film is dominated by female lead Laura Dern who also starred in Lynch's Blue Velvet and who co-produced Inland Empire.
It is the kind of film that I would never watch again but which I will always remember. If anyone has any theories on what deeper meaning of the film is intended, please enlighten me.
I checked this film out at the library earlier today because it had an intriguing title and the blurb interested me. It is a Peter Greenaway film from 1985. After watching 'My Beautiful Laundrette', another film from 1986, I have realised that the British Film scene of that time was quite something. I was born in 1986 and so was unable to appreciate these films at the time of release. However, I am grateful for the Leeds University Library's arsenal of 80s films, to allow me to catch up.
The storyline is quite complicated, so I am just going to cite the back of the DVD case to enlighten those who have never seen it before. "Two women passengers die in a car crash as a result of which the female driver has a leg amputated. The zoologist twin husbands of the dead women are fascinated by the processes of decay, start an affair with the amputee and liberate animals from a zoo." In short that is what the film is about but it is wonderfully compelling and beautiful to watch. The opening few scenes reminded me of the photography of David LaChapelle. This, I think is due to a rather limited reality as well as an abundance of neon, jaunty angles and wild textures.
I can imagine this film translated to the stage, and think it would work very well as a play, due to perhaps the static nature of the camera, as well as the large stage like scenes. The director is constantly playing on symmetry, which also provides a pleasing aesthetic. Since the film is about nature- or in fact the rise and fall of it, it echoes the natural beauty in both life and death bringing in concepts of balance and justice. I enjoyed the seemingly effortless depth of this film as well as its compelling entertainment through dramatic cinematography and elements of dark comedy.
