Merry Christmas, Hobbit , Prometheus

Well my last week in work before the start of the seasonal holiday, was looking to be grim, but out of the gloom appeared three trailers which has set the old excitement gene into motion. First the Dark Knight Rises trailer which promises more Chris Nolan intelligent magic. Then that other master film maker releases his first trailer for the Hobbit. It starts off light and comedic but once that Tolkien penned song kicks in as sung by Thorin and the boys my hairs were standing up on the back on my neck. This is a promising debut and suitable introduction to the Hobbits  tone. I am officially excited.
    Alien is a special movie, it was one of the first horror movie I slipped into as a teenager Friday the 13th was my first and everything about it fired my imagination. But the biggest impression was that left by the influence of H R Geiger. His nightmarish manipulation of imagery both sexual and mechanical just blew me away. This coupled with Ridley Scott's excellent visual story telling  left an impressionable mark. So to see the Prometheus trailer debut this week was exciting. If I have one criticism it would be that the space tech on show seem's far ahead of that on display in Alien. Much has been written about Scott's attempts to distance himself from the Alien films but its clear from the trailer that this is a prequel and that there are enough visual clues in the trailer to suggest how this might pan out.
    You only have to visit AICN to see the idea's both common, and the more extreme about what the trailer is attempting to convey. But there is the Space Jockey , then the vials laid out like the egg chamber in Alien in front of a giant humanoid head  carved from stone. Scott's mention of Chariot of the Gods suggest that this is a tale that points to an Alien origin for mankind. If you haven't seen the trailer then its available on iTunes.
    In closing, have a Merry Christmas, thanks for visiting my blog, and happy movie going. I'm going to do some major catching up over the holiday period with my plan being to see Tintin, MI4 Ghost Protocol and whatever else catches my eye.I've also asked Santa for the Planet of the Apes 7 disc box set, and Attack of the Block as it hasn't been released in New Zealand yet so hopefully a little blu ray marathon is on the cards.Have a good one and have a happy new year. Hope you'' visit again soon.

Immortals

     
I've only seen one Tarsem Singh film and that was the Cell, an okay thriller with standout visuals, I havent seen the Fall only images. So going into this film was a gamble, I knew to expect a return to 300 action territory from the trailers. Any fears going into this film that I might have had such as expecting an overly stylistic film were eased once the film got underway.
    I didn't love this film but it did entertain, my reasons are simple this film treats  is very simplistic with its characters  to the point that they are mere sketches and almost pantomime in their simplicity.    
      Henry Cavill as Thesesus delivers a solid everyman hero, Mickey Rourke a blood thirsty villain as King Hyperion.
      The story like the characters is simple too. Hyperion feels slighted by the gods and wishes to bring about their downfall. To do so he must obtain the Epirus bow created by Ares. Once it is in his possesion he can use it to unleash the Titans from Mount Tarturus. The gods cannot intervene but Zeus as played by both Luke Evans and in his older guise by John Hurt has been secretly preparing Theseus for the conflict ahead.
   Rourkes Hyperion is seriously bad ass but in a very black and white way, the back story is relayed in a few lines of exposition, he has lost his family, nearest and dearest. This has brought him to a very dark place. His treatment of his own troops, borders on the tyranical and his punishments on his own men are swift and bloody. His character is sketched out by actions rather than backstory.
   My main critisim would be the lack of scale to events, this is almost small scale in scope. Much like watching Spartacus, with its reliance on digital backgrounds and sets. it is almost like watching a theatre production than a big screen adventure. Battles take place in confined corridors.
   But they are visually  diverting, and the 3D is well utilised though a lot of scenes are very dark which diminishes the effect.
   If you enjoyed 300 you a will be entertained, for me well I will not be adding it to my blu ray shelf.  But I am looking forward to Mr Cavell's next big screen adventure as the Man of Steel.