Disney Confirms 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea Remake
Disney have finally confirmed that David Fincher will indeed get to direct his remake of timeless adventure classic 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.
Following an initial announcement several years ago, the future of the project had proved uncertain as the studio seemingly grew hesitant over the big budget aquatic adventure.
Brad Pitt had previously been attached to take play harpooner hero Ned Lad, however he’s reportedly now dropping out of the project. Kirk Douglas played the role in the previous 1954 adaptation.
Filming on the new version will take place in Australia after the federal arts minster offered the studio hefty financial incentives that gave them the final confidence to push ahead with the long delayed project.
Stoker Review
The Plot:
Following the sudden death of her father a troubled young girl living with her unstable mother suspects the mysterious uncle she never knew existed may have sinister ulterior motives when he arrives unexpectedly to move in.
The Good:
Korean director Chan-wook Park is responsible for notorious Asian cinema efforts like Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and Oldboy; with Stoker he makes his English language debut with a film equally loaded with brooding violence and dark psychological tensions. The film’s elegant cinematography and visual beauty are a stark contrast but fitting compliment to the story’s emotional core of seductive evil.
Mia Wasikowska is on absolutely scintillating form as India, a young girl haunted by both dark suspicions and demons of her own. The film’s provocative tagline is ‘innocence ends’ and her willing fall from grace as her infatuation with the mysterious Uncle Charlie grows is disturbingly fascinating. The young Australian actress is commendably uninhibited in a performance that doesn’t shy away from the most challenging aspects of psycho-sexual drama. She treads a fine line between victim and villain with intelligent poise and emotional precision.
British actor Matthew Goode likewise delivers an unflinching wide eyed performance as Uncle Charlie that is equally sinister and ruthlessly charismatic. He has a looming presence that is calculating, evil and yet believably seductive. The film uses his obvious incestuous charms to violently obliterate the boundaries of social and sexual taboos.
Perhaps the film’s most memorable character is actually its soundtrack. India claims to have superhuman hearing and magnifying the sound of an eggshell cracking or a throat nervously swallowing out of all proportion really does have a devastating effect on your sense of wellbeing. These intimate well-chosen noises heighten an already palpable sense of suspense, injecting sudden bursts of danger and fearful adrenalin.
The Bad:
Whilst Stoker is remarkably well composed and utterly effective at deliberately unnerving an audience, obviously not everyone will enjoy that experience. The film pushes well past the comparably safe territory of typical family melodrama and uncomfortably pokes around the darkest corners of unspeakable intimate fears.
Not everyone will welcome the films nightmarish descent into incestuous sexualized violence. But to be fair, anyone expecting escapist entertainment or emotional comfort from a Chan-wook Park film is either misguided or ill-informed. The film accomplishes precisely what it intendeds to, regardless of the damage it does to more sensitive souls.
The Ugly Truth:
Stoker is another magnificently visceral and unforgettable film from Director Chan-wook Park. His unique twisted genius has clearly lost nothing in translation for his first English language film. Powerful performances from a brave cast combined with deft use of unnerving sound and lush imagery will leave audiences satisfyingly shell-shocked. Though admittedly, more squeamish fans may find the more grisly and horrific aspects of the story hard to recover from. Stoker is a brilliant disturbing film, provided your faint heart can handle it.
Cloud Atlas Review
The Plot
Cloud Atlas is a sprawling science fiction adventure that interweaves six different stories set across the course of human history exploring how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future. One soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.
The Good
Adapted from David Mitchell’s bestselling novel and directed by Matrix visionaries Andy & Lana Wachowski, Cloud Atlas is undeniably different and ambitious. Spreading the various stories across time and space, from 19th Century colonialism to a post-apocalyptic future, ensures that at the very least the film is visually varied and set against a truly vast backdrop of human history.
The Wachowskis have assembled an enviable ensemble cast of accomplished character actors. Tom Hanks, Jim Broadbent and Halle Berry may be the most instantly recognisable a-list stars, but in truth it is talents like Doona Bae and Ben Wishaw that really steal the show.
The undeniable strength of the film’s cast and lavish production value allows it to move with relative success between its multiple storylines. Jumping back and forth between these seemingly distant worlds create a tangible sense of momentum and increasing connection between them. It admittedly demands close attention from an audience, but it rewards such dedicated viewing.
Taken as a whole Cloud Atlas meditates on grand themes like love, freedom and destiny; but its individual elements are self-contained stories that both entertain and captivate.
The Bad
Some audiences will find the film’s unashamedly epic three hour run time a little daunting. The way the film rapidly moves back and forth between so many different stories is impressive but will make the film confusing and hard to follow for those looking for a more straightforward blockbuster adventure.
Having the same core cast of actors playing different characters in each story is an obvious and practical choice, helping to some extent to integrate and connect the fractured plotlines. However it also presents its own challenges as the cast are often more convincing in some roles than others.
It’s a particular problem where heavy makeup is required, for example attempts to transform Hugo Weaving in to a woman and Halle Berry into a man are simply distracting. Burying actors beneath rubber faced prosthetics and an elaborate wig rarely enhances a performance and can actively ruin one when it fails to convince an audience.
While the majority of the film’s multiple storylines succeed, some are more obviously effective than others. Spreading a narrative across so many different stories introduces complexity but inevitably makes it harder to consistently satisfy an audience. In particular, the film’s post-apocalyptic sequences featuring Tom hanks as a jive-talking wilderness man and Hugo Weaving as an imaginary green bogeyman may seem a little ridiculous in comparison to other sections of more credible contemporary drama.
The Ugly Truth
Cloud Atlas has divided critical opinions fiercely and will almost certainly have the same effect on audiences. Some will admire it as ambitious and boldly original storytelling that strives to be intelligent, thought provoking and entertaining. Others will dismiss it as a pretentious mess that struggles to be as clever, subtle or coherent as it needed to be. Ultimately you absolutely should see it for yourself, because it is worth having an opinion and you might just love it.
Check out video interviews below with the full cast ahead of the UK Premiere:
London Fashion Week 2013 Pictures
This year’s London Fashion Week 2013 continues to dazzle with VIP parties and the debut of winter collections from the world’s leading designers Check out a gallery of runway photos below from this year’s Woolmark Prize collection. The final competition was judged this year by a panel that included Donatella Versace, Diane Von Furstenberg and Victoria Beckham.
World Of Oz At London Fashion Week
The inspired fashions from Oz The Great and Powerful were celebrated at this years London Fashion Week. Housed within the British Fashion Council’s show space, the event featured the films exquisite costumes, as worn by Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams in the film, alongside first look sketches of Nicholas Kirkwood’s shoe designs, which will be available exclusively from Selfridges in early March.
The event also included the first UK look at Deniz Berdan’s inspired dresses, Michel Negrin’s beautiful accessories and a look at William Tempest’s red carpet dress, which he has designed exclusively for the European Premiere of the film. Guests were also treated to a goody bag from OPI to celebrate their limited edition nail lacquers.
Oz The Great and Powerful, starring Mila Kunis, Michelle Williams, Rachel Weisz, James Franco and directed by visionary Sam Raimi, will be released in spectacular 3D in cinemas from 8th March. Costume designers Gary Jones and Michael Kutsche designed, created and assembled nearly 2,000 costumes for the film
Gallery of Event Pictures Below:
