The latest in my semi-random, long-neglected series of asides on special effects continues with the concept of the “reveal”. This is that moment when you finally get to see the spectacular object that has been withheld from you for so long. A good reveal will not just happen, but will be the culmination of a series of gestures that draw you in to a state of curiosity, suspense and anticipation. In short, if they’ve spent a lot of money on their biggest selling point, they’re going to make you wait to see it.

Jurassic Park’s big selling point was, of course, its dinosaurs, and the marketing campaign was supremely diligent about keeping them under wraps for as long as possible. In the trailer, you got to see a foot and part of a leg, but that was just a tease to make you earn for a good luck at all that off screen dinosaur anatomy. So, after a prologue in which a Park employee is eviscerated by a barely-glimpsed velociraptor, the spectator is prompted to anticipate the moment when the figurative curtains are drawn back and the much-touted technology provides a clear view. I’m going to analyse the couple of minutes that demonstrate this reveal, but you could argue that the build-up starts much earlier, as the scientists talk about and study dinosaurs, continually making references to things which you can’t yet see. This just delays, and thus builds up, the moment of revelation, without ever letting you forget that it’s on the way…

As the Jeeps enter the Park’s dinosaur enclosure, the gates are closed behind them, announcing a new stage of the film: In Jurassic Park, set-pieces are often delineated by movement between fenced or walled areas, or onto a new enclosure. The narrative is compartmentalised like a theme park or zoo. Each dinosaur gets its own scene in a different part of the park. The danger sign, and the sheer scale of the security system indicates to the viewer to beware what lies within, i.e. anticipate some scary stuff inside.

An altercation between John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), the park’s owner and Gennaro (Martin Ferrero), the lawyer assigned the task of investigating the park’s safety on behalf of shareholders, sets up a tension between Hammond’s idealistic maverick and the bureaucratic or venal corporate interests that threaten to compromise him (but which will later prove to be wholly self-interested). The film is careful not to portray Hammond as a “mad scientist”, or indeed to demonstrate any scientific knowledge or interest himself: all the “sciencey bits” are explained for us by characters onscreen or, in one sequence, by a cartoon strand of DNA. Each character seems to embody a different position in relation to the film’s central moral question concerning the ethics of genetic engineering. But note how Gennaro’s position will completely change by the end of this scene.

These shots establish the space in which the reveal will take place. Hammond, orchestrating the spectacle for his guests, brings the jeeps to a halt, indicating that something will happen.  He is controlling the scene for his audience, just as Spielberg mediates it for his viewers. Spielberg signals significant moment in his films by pushing the camera in to a character who strikes a pose or says an important line of dialogue with numbing frequency. Improbably, nobody but Hammond is looking out of the vehicle, so both “directors” are able to set up their reveals, Hammond by stopping the vehicles in an advantageous position, and Spielberg by…

… delaying the moment when his audience gets the longed-for reverse shot that tells us what they have been brought to see. Palaeontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill) spots it first, establishing an eyeline that sets up expectation that we will get to see what he sees.

The build-up is further extruded by having Grant stand up for a better look, an involuntary standing ovation that physically represents his rising sense of awe. He clumsily divests himself of hat and sunglasses – this is something he wants to see clearly, with his own eyes, unencumbered. Eyes wide and jaws dropping, the trick of using the reaction shot before the subjective shot of the dinosaur is an obvious one. We are meant to identify with Grant’s amazement, but we are teasingly out of the spectacular loop.

And there’s more. Impolitely, Grant twists the head of his partner, palaeobotanist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) to make her look. She has been too absorbed in examining a prehistoric leaf (!) to notice the dinosauric action going on nearby. She repeats the process of removing her sunglasses, standing up and gawping offscreen.

Finally, a reverse shot shows us what everyone is staring at. The camera is moved back to a long shot of the scene, and still the brachiosaurus is too big to fit into the frame. As it walks, the camera pans and reframes to take in its neck and finally its head at the top of the trees. The camera mimics the same uplifting, upward gaze that Grant  and Sattler have just enacted.

The low angle emphasises the size of the creature. Bright skies and the pastoral scene of grazing ensure that the scene is not misinterpreted as a threatening one. Throughout this sequence, John Williams’ score develops into a rising fanfare of wonderment. The shot lingers on the beast’s body – the reveal certainly delivers on its promise to follow concealment with explicit vision.

Neill and Dern are our surrogate gawkers in this scene: their eyelines direct us where to look (as if a bloody great dinosaur wasn’t enough of a hint), and their gasping disbelief is designed to infect us with a similar shiver of amazement. This reaches a peak when our scientific expert points, uselessly, at the giant monster and exclaims “It’s a dinosaur.” No shit. His critical, intellectual and scientific credentials are suspended, overpowered by the sheer force of seeing. Not once do they question the reality of what they’re seeing. To do so might push the spectator out of the illusion and cause them to question the fabrication of what they’re seeing.

Hey, where did the jeeps go in this shot? It looks as though they just don’t suit the composition, with the little people in the foreground dwarfed by the brachiosaur, its upright pose mimicking the bend of the trees. The space created by the composition is not a realistic one, but a spectacular one, where the spatial logic is dictated not to by fidelity to the position of objects in the surrounding shots, but by the demands of revelation and display.

Bookending the scene by referring back to the earlier discussion in the Jeep, our lawyer succumbs to the wonder of the moment: “We’re gonna make a fortune with this place”, striking the only sour note and spoiling the simple pleasure of spectacle by reminding us all of its inevitable corruption by corporate-commercial interests.

And there you have it. This reveal scene performs the simple task of showing off the central spectacular conceit of the film, but Spielberg makes it do more work than that, establishing a discourse of scientific spectacle that will then be questioned and condemned. It records the main characters’ responses to their first contact with the dinosaurs whose presence will become increasingly threatening, and encourages a parallel sense of amazement in spectators by using formal techniques that put the viewer in an identificatory relationship with the onscreen observers. It’s a spectacular moment, but one that promotes engagement rather than awed distanciation.

]]> http://joelcrary.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/jurassic-park/ Thu, 26 Nov 2009 06:46:29 +0000 Joel Crary http://joelcrary.wordpress.com/2009/11/26/jurassic-park/

Spielberg delivers the T-Rex money shot in "Jurassic Park".

(Steven Spielberg, 1993)

November 26, 2009

by Joel Crary

For my money, no modern director is as consistently reliable as Steven Spielberg, who approaches a wide variety of genres with a seemingly tireless eagerness to make exemplars for each. The first three-quarters of “Jurassic Park” is superb adventure filmmaking of the highest order. One scene, in which a Tyrannosaurus Rex breaks free of its enclosure and attacks a group of tourists, remains among one of the most harrowing ever filmed. Before the 21st century Spielberg, who elected to go all George Lucas on a re-released “E.T.” that toned down its scarier material, his younger self had no qualms with putting children in harm’s way.

As a child, I loved him for it. Sixteen years after I saw the film in theatres, there is still a palpable sense of terror to the T-Rex scene as it nearly crushes the children under a sunroof before flipping the car and grinding it into the muddied road like a finished cigarette. In that scene and others in which dinosaurs are majestically portrayed as having returned to roam the earth after 65 million years, the boy in Spielberg is apparent, using all of the tools at his disposal to recreate the wonder he must have felt at a young age when flipping through illustrations in a grade school science textbook.

I had a first or second row seat for my first viewing of “Jurassic Park”. People crammed into theatres to see it , the result of a marketing campaign that spent a dollar for every year that dinosaurs had been extinct. It seemed less a film that a full-on cultural event, something completely unique in light of most of its competition in the summer of ‘93, which included “Super Mario Bros.” and “Last Action Hero”. Merchandise and ancillary products dominated store shelves. Toronto named their new basketball team after a dinosaur that no one had so much as heard of three years prior.

Most significantly, “Jurassic Park” was the film that changed the movie-making landscape with regard to CGI. Sequences such as the running of the gallimimus herd and the brachiosaurus encounter, animated by the effects creators at the still teenaged Industrial Light & Magic, opened up doors of possibility for animators still working within the limitations of stop motion on productions. After “Jurassic Park”, unreal creatures began to move more fluently, extending the possibilities of the corporeal onscreen.

The film’s strongest effects work, however, remains in the realm of animatronics, which have always trumped CGI. The T-Rex is actually there in the frame, screaming like something out of a nightmare as it tears an electric fence to pieces. The potency of “Jurassic Park’s” dinosaur scenes comes from the effort of the effects team to study the creatures’ behaviour and apply it to their movements. The filmmakers are aware that all most of us know about dinosaurs comes from what we have retained from lessons and theories learned in childhood – the T-Rex can’t see you if you don’t move; the brontosaurus eats leaves, not people – thereupon building our empathy for the hapless characters as they find themselves at the mercy of natural selection.

For the most part, Michael Crichton and David Koepp’s script is wisely fueled by the awe of their characters. These days, the movie starts to lose me around the time Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) has to restore electrical power to the park. Spielberg gets a little too energetic with his camera movements, which try in vain to pump life into the film after the T-Rex scene has shattered the nerves. There are plot holes and conveniences galore, such as the scene where Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) throws a stick at an electric fence to see if it’s still working, or the fact that 13-year-old Lex (Ariana Richards) knows how to navigate a UNIX interface to restore the compound’s locking mechanisms.

“Jurassic Park” was my introduction to the brilliance of Jeff Goldblum. Viewing Ian Malcolm in the post-Brundlefly context puts a whole new weird spin on his oddly delivered observations regarding chaos theory in the evolutionary process, but he’s wasted in the film’s second half, where he is positioned in fetishistic shots that linger on his bare chest and placement akin to some kind of fallen Greek deity. Samuel L. Jackson also plays an understated role as one of the park’s technicians with an Andy Capp smoke perpetually dangling from his lips, and in his portlier days, Wayne Knight tangles with an acid-spitting dilophosaurus and loses in mucky fashion.

The character I’ve come to enjoy most is Robert Muldoon (Bob Peck), who lived in Crichton’s book but dies in the film. In spite of his fatal error in hunting velociraptors, he’s the one guy out of the lot I’d trust to escape the island with, as he’s the only one who seems to acknowledge exactly what the dinosaurs are capable of. Had he survived, I believe he could have single-handedly prevented the next two installments in the “Jurassic Park” series, or at least brought some much needed good sense to “The Lost World”.

John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), the showman, cares little for the science behind his attraction. I like his bit of dialogue about the flea circus, pregnant as it is with the idea of trading in things we can’t see for things that are too big to imagine, overwhelming ourselves with our own power simply to see if it can be done. “Jurassic Park” is about ambition and a desire for capital triumphing over good ideas, told with an excitement for the scientific method and what becomes possible for the adult who never fully grows out of his childhood fantasies. Spielberg clearly never has.

No voy a extenderme comentando el título que se estrenó el miércoles, porque de “Luna Nueva” mucho se ha hablado ya en este Blog, y mi compañero Snake, recogió la noticia el mismo día en el que debutaba en las pantallas españolas (para leer su post, pinchad aquí).

Por otro lado, y para quienes queráis tener una información más completa de la película, si pincháis aquí, podéis acceder a un especial sobre ella, confeccionado por Karelia, otra de los componentes de este Blog.

Y dicho esto, me dedico a comentar los cinco nuevos films que podremos ver a partir de hoy en nuestros cines.

“Tenderness” es un thriller producido en USA, protagonizado por Russell Crowe, Laura Dern, Jon Foster y Sophie Traub. La película está basada en una novela de Robert Cormier, escritor de literatura juvenil, ya desaparecido, y, precisamente, los dos personajes sobre los que gira la trama del film, son el joven Eric Komenko (Jon Foster), puesto en libertad recientemente, después de cumplir condena por el asesinato de sus padres, y Lori (Sophie Traub), una adolescente obsesionada por Eric, que irrumpe por sorpresa en su vida. Russell Crowe interpreta a Cristofuoro, un detective de la policía que sigue de cerca los pasos de Komenko, convencido de que este es un potencial asesino en serie.

“Amelia”, es un biopic sobre la vida de la aviadora estadounidense Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank) que desapareció mientras sobrevolaba el océano Pacífico en 1937 en su intento de realizar un vuelo alrededor del mundo. El film nos cuenta también sus relaciones con su marido, George Putnam (interpretado por Richard Gere), con la ex esposa de este, a la que da vida Virginia Madsen, y con el que fue su amante y gran amor de su vida, Eugene Vidal (Ewan McGregor), padre del escritor Gore Vidal.

“Un lugar donde quedarse” la dirige Sam Mendes, realizador de las aplaudidas “American Beauty” (1999), “Camino a la perdición” (2002), y “Revolutionary Road” (2008). El film es una comedia dramática, que también puede encuadrarse en las llamadas road movie. Es el peregrinar de una pareja treintañera por Estados Unidos, buscando el lugar ideal donde afincar su familia, ya que están a punto de  tener un hijo. En su recorrido conocerán a muchas otras familias, vivirán con algunas de ellas situaciones surrealistas, pero siempre sacarán algo positivo de sus encuentros, lo que les llevará a una reflexión final.

“La noche que dejó de llover” es de producción española, está protagonizada por el aclamado Luis Tosar (“Celda 212” -2009), y fue pre-estrenada en el pasado Festival de Valladolid. Cuenta como Spleen (Tosar), un hombre fuera de lo corriente, que pasa las noches filosofando en una taberna con sus amigos, conoce a una chica con la que inicia una relación también fuera de lo corriente, y que tiene como marco la noche.

“Los condenados”, también producida en España, fue pre-estrenada en la pasada edición del Festival de Cine de San Sebastián. La dirige Isaki Lacuesta, del que pudimos apreciar “Cravan vs. Cravan” (2002) el documental con el que debutó en la pantalla grande. En esta ocasión, nos cuenta una tensa historia en la que dos ex-guerrilleros se reencuentran después de 30 años en una excavación ilegal, en la que comienzan a buscar el cuerpo de un compañero desaparecido en aquella época.

Y… hemos llegado al final. A la semana que viene, más.

Buen cine.

LA SAGA CREPÚSCULO: LUNA NUEVA

Título: La Saga Crepúsculo: Luna Nueva

Título Original: The Twilight Saga: New Moon

Género: Thriller, Fantasía

Nacionalidad: USA

Año: 2009

Director: Chris Weitz

Guión: Melissa Rosenberg

Intérpretes: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Peter Facinelli, Elizabeth Reaser, Kellan Lutz, Nikki Reed, Jackson Rathbone, Bronson Pelletier, Alex Meraz, Kiowa Gordon, Billy Burke, Chaske Spencer, Edi Gathegi, Rachelle Lefevre, Michael Sheen, Christopher Heyerdahl, Charlie Bewley, Daniel Cudmore, Dakota Fanning, Graham Greene, Anna Kendrick, Michael Welch, Christian Serratos, Justine Wachsberger, Jamie Campbell Bower, Justin Chon, Hugo Steele

Sinopsis: Basada en la novela Luna Nueva, segunda de la saga Crepúsculo de Stephenie Meyer.

El romance entre mortal y vampiro alcanza nuevas cotas cuando Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) tienta al destino en su intento de conocer mejor a su amado vampiro, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). A medida que se sume en los misterios del mundo sobrenatural del que ansía formar parte, descubre un par de antiguos secretos que la ponen más en peligro que nunca.

Nada más cumplir Bella 18 años, Edward decide abandonarla con intención de protegerla. Una desconsolada Bella se ve pasando su último año de instituto sola, medio dormida e insensible, hasta que descubre que puede visualizar la imagen de Edward siempre que corre peligro. Su deseo de estar con él a toda costa la lleva a asumir riesgos cada vez mayores, e incluso llega a aficionarse a correr temerariamente en moto a toda velocidad.

Con la ayuda de Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), su amigo de la infancia y miembro de la misteriosa tribu quileute, Bella restaura una moto para sus aventuras. El gélido corazón de Bella se va descongelando poco a poco gracias a su creciente relación con Jacob, que guarda su propio secreto sobrenatural.

Cuando Bella deambula sola hasta un prado, se encuentra cara a cara con un letal atacante. Tan solo la intervención de una manada de lobos sobrenaturalmente grandes la salva de una espeluznante muerte y el encuentro deja terriblemente claro que Bella todavía corre grave peligro. En una carrera contra reloj, Bella descubre el antiguo secreto de la tribu quileute y el auténtico motivo por el cual Edward la dejó. También afronta la posibilidad de una reunión potencialmente mortal con su amado muy distinta de la que esperaba.

TENDERNESS

Título: Tenderness

Título Original: Tenderness

Género: Thriller

Nacionalidad: USA

Año: 2008

Director: John Polson

Guión: Emil Stern

Intérpretes: Russell Crowe, Laura Dern, Sophie Traub, Jon Foster, Alexis Dziena, Michael Kelly, Jake M. Smith

Sinopsis: El detective Cristofuoro (Russell Crowe) es un veterano policía obsesionado con el caso de Eric Komenko (Jon Foster), un joven que acaba de salir de prisión tras cumplir condena por el asesinato de sus padres. Eric Komenko también ocupa los pensamientos de Lori (Sophie Traub), una problemática adolescente que se siente irremediablemente atraída por él desde que presenció un extraño suceso años atrás. Lori se presenta por sorpresa en la vida del joven, determinada a acompañarle allá donde vaya, a pesar de las advertencias del detective Cristofuoro, quien, convencido de que Eric es un asesino en serie que pronto volverá a actuar, no dudará en seguir sus pasos. Aunque tenga que emplear métodos poco ortodoxos para intentar detenerle.

AMELIA

Título: Amelia

Título Original: Amelia

Género: Drama, Biopic

Nacionalidad: USA

Año: 2009

Director: Mira Nair

Guión: Ronald Bass, Anna Hamilton Phelan

Intérpretes: Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Virginia Madsen, Christopher Eccleston, Mia Wasikowska

Sinopsis: Basada en la vida de la aviadora Amelia Earhart (Hilary Swank), legendaria piloto y un enigmático símbolo del espíritu libre americano, cuya existencia se rigió por una profunda curiosidad por todo lo que la vida le podía ofrecer. Los precoces triunfos obtenidos por Earhart en el ámbito de la aviación y su meteórico ascenso en fama y fortuna, recibieron el estímulo de su tempestuosa asociación y posterior matrimonio con el editor George Putnam (Richard Gere). Unidos por su mutua ambición, admiración y, finalmente, gran amor, el vínculo entre ellos no llegó a romperse ni siquiera con la breve pero apasionada aventura que Earhart mantuvo con Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor). Earhart fue la primera mujer que cruzó el Atlántico en solitario y fue el primer piloto, ya sea masculino o femenino, en atravesar el Pacífico, también en solitario. En su intento por ser la primera persona en dar la vuelta al mundo por la ruta ecuatorial, la vida de Amelia se vio truncada trágicamente por su misteriosa y prematura desaparición en las aguas del Pacífico Sur en el año 1937.

UN LUGAR DONDE QUEDARSE

Título: Un lugar donde quedarse

Título Original: Away we go

Género: Comedia

Nacionalidad: USA

Año: 2009

Director: Sam Mendes

Guión: Dave Eggers, Vendela Vida

Intérpretes: John Krasinski, Maya Rudolph, Jeff Daniels, Carmen Ejogo, Jim Gaffigan, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Josh Hamilton, Allison Janney, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Messina, Catherine O’Hara, Paul Schneider

Sinopsis: Cuando Burt y Verona (John Krasinski y Maya Rudolph) descubren que están a punto de tener un niño, sufren una crisis de pánico. No soportan el pueblo donde viven, y ahora que los padres de Burt se mudan de allí, pierden el sistema de apoyo con el que contaban. Deciden emprender un viaje en busca del sitio ideal para echar raíces y criar un niño. De paso, visitan a una serie de parientes y amigos. Algunos son absolutos excéntricos, otros son conmovedores, pero todos ayudarán a Burt y a Verona a encontrar su destino. Acabarán por descubrir que para crear un hogar, sólo se necesitan el uno al otro.

LA NOCHE QUE DEJÓ DE LLOVER

Título: La noche que dejó de llover

Título original: La noche que dejó de llover

Género: Drama

Nacionalidad: España

Año: 2008

Director: Alfonso Zarauza

Guión: Alfonso Zarauza

Intérpretes: Luis Tosar, Nora Tschirner, Mercedes Sampietro, Chete Lera, Miguel de Lira, Fede Celada, Cristina Solano, Macarena Gómez, Camila Bossa

Sinopsis: Spleen (Luis Tosar), un tipo poco corriente, pasa las noches filosofando hasta el amanecer en compañía de sus amigos de La Taberna de los Dramáticos, santuario bohemio al que no falta ni una noche desde hace años. Después de tres meses de lluvia ininterrumpida, de pronto esa noche deja de llover. Es entonces cuando Spleen sale a comprar pan y conoce a La Rusa (Nora Tschirner), una rubia con flequillo en la que materializa sus ilusiones. Juntos iniciarán un viaje inesperado, tierno y surrealista a través de la noche y del interior de ellos mismos que transformará sus vidas por completo.

LOS CONDENADOS

Título: Los condenados

Título original: Los condenados

Género: Drama

Nacionalidad: España

Año: 2009

Director: Isaki Lacuesta

Guión: Isaki Lacuesta

Intérpretes: Daniel Fanego, Arturo Goetz, Leonor Manso, María Fiorentino, Bárbara Lennie

Sinopsis: Dos ex-guerrilleros se reencuentran 30 años más tarde en una excavación ilegal, donde buscarán el cuerpo de un tercer compañero desaparecido entonces. La tensión y los secretos escondidos durante ese tiempo aflorarán a medida que se acerquen a la impredecible solución final, donde no todo será lo que parecía.

-

Swanson 

Es impresionante la capacidad que tiene Ben Stiller para conseguir buenos actores para sus películas, ya que para esta trilogía ha contado con nombres como Robert De Niro y Dustin Hoffman, y ahora el ultimo que se une al cast es el gran Harvey Keitel, que interpretara a un contratista empleado de Stiller.

Otras nuevas caras que veremos en “Little Fockers”, a saber como la traducen en esta ocasión, serán las de Laura Dern y Jessica Alba, que se unen a las anteriores y que estarán bajo la dirección de Paul Weitz.

Rest in peace he who was Mr White, Bad Lieutenant Auggie Wren, The Wolf, and all the other cool characters. Don’t worry he isn’t dead. He’s just joining Robert De Niro in Little Fockers.

Oh how the mighty have fallen since Mean Streets. THR had the news.

Harvey Keitel has joined the cast of Universal and Tribeca Prods.’ “Meet the Fockers” sequel.

Regulars Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner and Owen Wilson are returning, along with newcomers Jessica Alba and Laura Dern.

Paul Weitz (“In Good Company”) is directing the film, which has the working title of “Little Fockers,” since it focuses on the main couple’s children. Keitel will play a contractor employed by Stiller’s character

Well that sounds like a whole heap of naffness. I thought the first one was a piece of irritating fluff – I like Ben Stiller, but he does make some bad films. Anyone seen Envy? I rest my case.

How on Earth these Focker films get top actors to be involved I just don’t know. Well apart from the money. Am I missing something about the films? Is it just me?

One thing I’ve learnt from this? Only that he played a Nazi soldier in Hogan’s Heroes. Who knew?

Oh and I’m back. Thanks to Ishmael for helping out.

Jessica Alba

O site Pipoca Moderna destaca o terceiro da (agora) trilogia “Entrando Numa Fria…”:

A atriz favorita de David Lynch, Laura Dern (“Império dos Sonhos”) entrou no elenco de “Little Fockers”, sequência de “Entrando Numa Fria Maior Ainda”. Ela acompanha Jessica Alba, que já tinha sido confirmada no papel de uma enfermeira sexy.

Dern interpretará a diretora escola em que as crianças da família Fockers freqüentam. Os protagonistas Ben Stiller e Teri Pólo já confirmaram presença, assim como Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner, Owen Wilson, Dustin Hoffman e Barbra Streisand.

“Little Fockers” transforma a série numa trilogia. A franquia foi inaugurada em 2000 com “Entrando Numa Fria” (Meet the Parents, em inglês), que arrecadou US$ 330 milhões mundialmente. Quatro anos depois veio a sequência “Entrando Numa Fria Maior Ainda” (Mett the Fockers), que teve renda mundial de US$ 516 milhões.

A direção será de Paul Weitz (“Um Grande Garoto”) e o roteiro de John Hamburg (“Eu Te Amo, Cara”) ficou responsável pelo último tratamento do roteiro.

- por Cauli Fernandes

No início, fez-se a sombra. Atravessando dezenas de tons de cinza, vemos uma mulher desconhecida chorando, ouvindo uma música que vem de um vinil que toca. Somente para nós, surge o título do filme, mas quase não é possível distingui-lo. A mulher continua lá, sentada, sofrendo e olhando para uma TV com estática. Ela parece um pouco absorta naquilo, como também indiferente, vendo aquelas pontos de luz.

E isso é só o começo, o batente da entrada. Corte após corte, passeamos por aposentos diferentes de algum lugar, de alguma cabeça, por algo dentro de algum ser vivo ou não, sem qualquer linearidade. É tudo luz, sons, cores, ruídos, sonho, uma experiência sensorial jamais vista, dando conta de contar… O quê? Não sei. As histórias não se encaixam, os delírios são delirantes demais, tentar amarrar os personagens em algo coeso é insanidade. Tem mafiosos, uma burguesa às voltas com as questões da vida, alguém que sofreu violência durante a vida de casada.

E coelhos. Homens com cabeças de coelhos. Coelhos com corpo de homens. Eles fazem um programa de TV, talvez um sitcom, sem conteúdo nenhum, mas que há alguém que ri, há. Eles transam, transam, transam para perpetuar a geração de besteiras. Em um momento, ouve-se alguém batendo na porta e um dos coelhos a abre. Vê o que era. Sai. Silêncio.

Laura Dern. Laura Dern. Laura Dern. Ela é uma atriz que mora numa casa dourada e bonita e faz um filme amaldiçoado. Ela recebe uma visita de uma senhora que diz que um menino abriu uma porta, diz que o filme tem um assassinato foda pra caralho, diz que se hoje fosse amanhã. E aponta o dedo para uma poltrona e não se sabe o que acontece, três mulheres, incluindo Laura, aparecem lá. De um segundo para outro. Esse é o espírito.

Onde estarão as prostitutas? Mostrando os peitos para Laura, fazendo a maior cena musical da história, transando com quem? Elas transam? São prostitutas? Elas devem vagar pelo mundo, feito fantasmas. Será que já morreram? Faça perguntas sempre, sempre, se não, não se sobrevive nesse mundo de gente louca.  Laura Dern foi conversar com alguém, em algum lugar bem alto, falar sobre espancamentos, ameaças, morte.

Pomona fica onde? Muito perto ou muito longe? É algum lugar capaz de se alcançar? Para Laura Dern, apunhalada, deve ser difícil. Mas mesmo assim, estão filmando-a. Gravando a morte para fazer arte. Ou dinheiro? Dizem “corta” e ela anda, quase flutua para chegar em algum lugar, atravessa sets de filmagem, atravessa olhares. Chega onde? Em algum fundo saturado de contrastes, em alguma sala atolada de memórias, desvarios, demônios. Laura Dern diz que ama alguém. Mais luz e escuridão.

Todos os impérios estão mortos. Os sonhos estão sempre vivos, guerreando, acima de tudo e todos. Mas o Império dos Sonhos ainda está vivo do que nunca. Soberbo, pulsando. Na tela de cinema? Sim, talvez. Os filmes conversam entre si? Qual seria o fruto de um debate entre Casablanca e O Iluminado? Janela Indiscreta e Scanners são amigos? A gente gosta dos filmes, mas será que eles gostam da gente? Esse século de cinema quer toda a humanidade morta, de miolo espalhado na parede? Perguntem para eles.

C’mon, baby.

Do the locomotion.

5/5

Ficha Técnica: Império dos Sonhos (INLAND EMPIRE) – 2006, EUA. Dir.: David Lynch. Elenco: Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Justin Theroux

Jurassic Park (1993)
★★★★ / ★★★★

“Jurassic Park” was one of my favorite movies when I was about seven years old and it still remains a guilty pleasure of mine. (And I’m guessing my love for this film will be passed on to my kids.) Based on the novel by Michael Crichton and directed by the great Steven Spielberg, this film made me experience every emotion that there was to experience in (smart) summer blockbusters and creature-feature movies: heart-pounding thrills, suspense embedded in silences, funny one-liners, and astute script supported by storytelling that inspires true wonder.

John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) wanted to open a new theme park that was full of dinosaurs and everything else from that specific time period. But in order for the park to get a green light to open, he must get the approval of outside parties: a mathematician who loves to talk about the chaos theory (Jeff Goldblum as Dr. Ian Malcolm) and two dinosaur experts who are opposites but undoubtedly share great chemistry (Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant and Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Sattler). Other characters included Hammond’s grandchildren (Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards), a greedy computer expert who made a deal with another research group to smuggle DNA outside of Jurassic Park (Wayne Knight), another computer expert who likes structure and discipline (Samuel L. Jackson), a dinosaur hunter (Bob Peck), and a lawyer who values money over safety (Martin Ferrero). Although none of the characters were fully explored, I did not think that was too big of a problem because each of them contributed something to the picture, such as being dinosaur bait for our entertainment. And who really wants character development when one can look at how ferocious and fatal dinosaurs can be?

I admired this picture’s ability to balance. With its two-hour running time, I noticed that the first half served to explain how the scientists were able to replicate (with slight but crucial modifications) extinct creatures and the second half focused on the many brutal ways of getting hunted. As a Biological Sciences major, I liked the fact that it offered an explanation that made sense with regards to how the scientists acquired the dinosaurs’ DNA. Moreover, I also liked that it mentioned that acquiring the DNA would not be sufficient. That is, there were missing gaps in the DNA that had to be solved in order to commence the process of DNA replication and eventually cloning entire organisms. As for the chase sequences, I found that once it started it never lets go until the final three minutes. There were definitely a plethora of highlights in the second half but I’m only going to mention some. The kitchen scene that haunted me when I was younger was even more thrilling than I thought. When I was seven, I remember being able to identify with those kids because I thought that if I were in their situation, I wouldn’t want to get eaten by those hungry velociraptors either. Not that I’m older, I still could identify with them but on a different level: I didn’t want them to get hurt because they are smart, funny and energetic kids. Another highlight was the first appearance of the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex and how the water vibrated as it moved closer to the characters. I’ve seen the impact of vibration reference in a plethora of films that came after “Jurassic Park” so I think it’s safe to say that that scene is pretty much embedded in the collective media unconscious. And it rightly deserves to be because of Spielberg’s great execution by building suspense and eventually delivering the thrills.

The special and visual effects must be given applause. I’ve seen a number of movies surrounding 1993 and nothing even comes close to this film’s magic. Back in 1993, it must have been that much more impressive. Nowadays, if one was to watch this movie, one would find out that some effects were noticably computerized. Given that, while the two sequels greatly improved on the effects, neither comes close to the original’s sense of wonder and tension. For me, it goes to show that a movie can have the best special and visual effects in the world but if there’s not enough story and heart, it’s essentially weak as a whole. Last but certainly not least, I liked that it managed to tackle ethical questions of building such a park. I was glad that the whole “playing God” issue/religion was acknowledged but it eventually focused on defying nature without thinking of the consequences first. Goldblum’s character provided much of the ethical questions and I was always interested with what he had to say. And really, his questions are still relevant today because of all the technological advancements our generation are acquiring.

“Jurassic Park” is truly one of the best summer blockbuster popcorn flick ever made. By the time the credits started rolling, despite the death and terror that happened in the park, I still wished we had one just like it in real life so I could visit. If I were to describe this movie in the fewest words possible it would be “A Landmark.”

OKIthe browser —Meaghan Murphy & Patricia Ramosfriends came for a housewarming). Besides John, FAQ guests at the star-studded bash included Courteney CompleteSolutionCox and David Arquette, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Tobey Maguire and Jen Meyer, Laura Dern and Ben Harper, Oprah Winfrey and Sheryl Crow.
“It was chandeliers and linen tablecloths all the way,” reveals an eyewitness who observed the event’s assembly. “Totally first class.”
And according to onlook¬ers, Jen was positively glowing. “She looked hot, and she and John looked really happy,” a source told E! News of the actress, who danced and huddled close with John the entire evening. Clearly, the birthday girl was finally getting her wish — and her friends couldn’t be more thrilled. “This is going to be the best birthday Jen has ever had,” close pal Rosanna Arquette gushed to OK\ at Clive Davis’ Pre-Grammy Gala at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Feb. 7. A milestone celebra¬tion, for a milestone birthday.OKI —Meaghan Murphy & Patricia Ramos

Laura Dern

Laura Dern estará en la secuela de “Meet de Fockers” que lleva por nombre “Little Fockers” que estarán produciendo la Universal y Tribeca Prods, segun nos chismea el Hollywood Reporter.

Esta cinta va a ser dirigida por Paul Weitz y el cast incluye a Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner, Owen Wilson y Jessica Alba.

Laura será la directora de una escuela primaria a la que los hijos de los Fockers van a asistir.

Onirico, angosciante. Riporto una recensione trovata in giro nella rete, perché non c’ho capito molto. Ma forse il segreto è ce non c’è nulla da capire. Lynch è un pazzo, questo è poco ma sicuro.

Primo piano spazio-temporale:
Siamo a Lodz, nella Polonia degli anni 50. Lost Girl è una donna costretta a prostituirsi da un magnaccia detto Crumpy, con il quale avrà una storia d’amore. In seguito la loro storia avrà fine: Lost Girl si innamora di un attore di nome Smithy, sposato con un attrice la quale non può avere figli. C’è quindi un doppio tradimento da parte dei due. Lost Girl sotto ipnosi di Crumpy ucciderà la moglie di Smithy con un cacciative, mentre Crumpy uccide personalmente Smithy. Muore anche Lost Girl (non si sa come). Dopo la morte, rimasta intrappolata in una stanza, cerca di uccidere i fantasmi del suo passato e mettersi in pace con se stessa facendo il remake della sua vita attraverso la mente, si crea dunque un alter ego, Nikki.

Secondo Piano Spazio-Temporale: “Inland Empire”
Nikki è un attrice 40enne molto ricca e che vive in una casa lussuosissima in un quartiere residenziale di Los Angeles. Un giorno una vicina veggente le fa vedere quello che sarebbe successo il giorno dopo, ovvero avrebbe ottenuto la parte in un film molto importante. Come previsto dalla vicina, Nikki ottiene la tanto ambita parte in questo film dal titolo “Il buio cielo del domani”, diretto dal regista Kingsley Stewart, di cui ella è indiscussa protagonista insieme a un altro attore che ha la nomea di playboy, Devon. Durante le prime prove, Kingsley rivela ai due protagonista che il film al quale stanno lavorando è in realtà un remake di un vecchio film polacco di nome “47” (numero che porta sfortuna), il quale non è mai stato completato a causa dell’omicidio dei due attori protagonisti. Superato il timore dovuto all’impatto iniziale, i due si immergono nei loro personaggi. Il marito di Nikki è un uomo molto geloso e teme che tra sua moglie possa tradirlo con Devon. Il film parla appunto di una storia d’amore tormentata tra uomo (Billy) e una donna (Susan) già sposati. Ad un certo punto Nikki non riesce più a distinguere la sua vita reale e si immedesima così tanto con il personaggio che finisce per innamorarsi davvero di Devon.

Terzo Piano Spazio-Temporale: “Il Buio Cielo del Domani”
Susan è una donna con gravi problemi economici che per arrotondare si prostituisce ad insaputa del marito (Smithy). Conosce un attore di nome Billy, già sposato con una donna e con un figlio. Nikki resta incinta ma crede che la sua gravidanza sia dovuta a Smithy. Nel frattempo, quest’ultimo si unisce a un gruppo di circensi guidato da un certo Crumpy, detto il Fantasma, un uomo dotato di poteri paranormali. Intanto Billy ripudia Susan di fronte a sua moglie, la quale nutre un forte disprezzo nei confronti di Susan, la quale viene a scoprire che suo marito non può avere figli, quindi è stata messa incinta da Billy.
Smithy si mette sulla cattiva strada per via di conti in sospeso con il gruppo mafioso guidato da Crumpy, il quale prima picchierà violentemente Susan facendogli perdere il bambino, poi dopo averla rapita e costretta a prostituirsi a Inland Empire, ucciderà pure Smithy. Mentre una sera Susan batte i marciapiedi, viene uccisa dalla moglie di Billy (sotto ipnosi) con un colpo di cacciavite alla pancia.
Alla fine Nikki, conscia di essere una proiezione mentale, uccide Crumpy, e libera la Lost Girl dalla sua stanza, potendo finalmente riabbracciare suo marito e il figlio che non ha mai avuto.
Ovviamente i 3 piani spazio-temporali sono intersecati tra di loro, ed è per questo che il film non si presta ad una facile comprensione. C’è da dire che molte delle cose che succedono e che ho descritto in un determinato spazio-temporale spesso si deducono perché sono accadute in un altro piano narrativo e così via. La realtà sono le scene della Polonia degli anni 50, tutto il resto del film è un vero e proprio “Impero Della Mente”. Evidentemente quello che succede nel remake “Il Buio Cielo Del Domani” è come una tentativo da parte della Lost Girl di ricostruire mentalmente la sua vita ed uccidere almeno mentalmente Crumpy per potere riabbracciare l’uomo che ama e il figlio che non ha mai avuto.

This movie is great. If you are into new wave or early punk you will be into this. There  is a great scene when the girls rip off the guys band by covering there song.  Watch if you get a chance. It has guys from Sex Pistols, The Clash and the Tubes in this movie. Along with Diane Lane and Laura Dern in there first movie.

Diane Lane is hot in this.  If you have already watched it, try watching with the commentary on.

Jurassic Park III (2001)
★★★ / ★★★★

Sam Neill returns as Dr. Alan Grant, a paleontologist who accepted a couple’s offer (William H. Macy and Téa Leoni) to give them a tour of Isla Sorna (the second island where scientists conduct experiments of cloning and breeding of dinosaurs) because his research needed funding. Later on, we got to find out that the real reason the couple wanted to visit the island was to find their son (Trevor Morgan) who got stranded there due to a boating accident. Although I did not enjoy this installment as the original “Jurassic Park,” it was definitely a step up from “The Lost World: Jurassic Park.” I still enjoyed watching the dinosaurs, the adventures that characters went though, and the campiness that came with the hunt but I felt as though the dinosaurs were secondary to the characters. “Jurassic Park III” did not have the same wonder as the first did. Instead of consistently finding more about the dinosaurs and how they’ve evolved as the picture went on, it was simply stated in the first fifteen minutes of the movie that the raptors knew how to communicate and were probably more intelligent than primates. So, in a way, it took away some of the potentially great suspense that the filmmakers could have utilized by means of surprise when the characters were actually on the island. The return of Laura Dern as Dr. Ellie Sattler was more than welcome because she had that constant worry look in her eyes but was more than capable of delivering when circumstances were at their worst. I just wished that her character was used a lot more instead of just keeping her at the periphery (i.e. off the island). Some highlights include the Pteranodon attack, the Spinosaurus attack while the gang tried to contact Ellie, and all the scenes with the Velociraptors. I also very much enjoyed the fact that this film made references to the first two and the characters that were not present on this one. Directed by Joe Johnston, “Jurassic Park III” was still able to entertain but it could have been longer in order to add more heart-pounding scenes and a much stronger ending. I’ve heard rumors that this is going to be the final installment of the franchise, which I really hope is not the case because I can always use more dinosaurs in the cinema. I say they just need a strong script and they should be good to go.

He’s so cute… but anyway,  I found this little piece on The Insider website…

Ben Harper & Family In Sardinia

Ben Harper and Laura Dern vacation with their children, Ellery, 7, and Jaya, 3 1/2, and friends in Porto Cervo (Sardinia).

Source : Bauer Griffin

Thank God “anonymous” posted this comment:

Those two other children are *NOT* friends they are Ben’s kids from his first marriage. His son is named after Ben’s grandfather Charles Chase who owned a folk music store and instrument museum who exposed him and fueled his love for music.

It may seem trivial, but as the only brown person traveling with my white family I was often mistaken for a “friend,” and that just doesn’t feel good.  I don’t know exactly how to describe how it feels, but it’s not good.  Especially when that’s your dad and the circumstances lead you to think, “I was his family before these other people.”  So, thank you Anonymous for clearing that up.

]]> http://mulattodiaries.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/non-interracial-couples/ Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:43:12 +0000 tiffdjones http://mulattodiaries.wordpress.com/2009/10/07/non-interracial-couples/

If these two are not in an interracial relationship…..

Then neither are these couples…

]]> http://splitedit.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/we-dont-put-out/ Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:51:15 +0000 Lewis http://splitedit.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/we-dont-put-out/

DVD: Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains

by Lewis Manalo

The DVD for Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains came out about a year ago, and I’m appalled that I managed to go through my teenage years without having seen it. Haiku review:

Diane Lane, Laura
Dern, your punk band sucks, but you
are still really cool.

It nearly has the punk texture of Smithereens starring Richard Hell, but with a big budget, a screenplay by Nancy Dowd and a studio like Paramount backing it, the film is more likely one of the last babies of a lingering 70’s Hollywood. Apparently, unless you had the misfortune of growing up in L.A. and had the good fortune of having Z Channel, you never got to see this movie as a kid. I have yet to speak with anyone (on the East Coast) who was a teen in the 1980s who’s seen it.

See it. (And keep an eye out for a baby version of Ray Winstone.)