I blogged on here a while back about the upcoming sci-fi creature feature, Splice coming out starring Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley. There wasn’t really too much info out there at the time on this one. But today I saw a cool little featurette that sheds alot more light on this movie. Directed by Vincenzo Natali who also helmed the awesome sci-fi classic “Cube” ( if you have not seen that movie go rent it now!), I have high hopes and with Guillermo Del Toro as the executive producer it’s a safe bet this won’t be a peice of trash. Check this out and towards the end you’ll get to see a clip from the movie that I think looks pretty promising…  

Check out the Cube trailer too if you’ve never seen it before..

“Science newest miracle…is a mistake.”

Vincenzo Natali, director of ‘Cube’ has a new film coming out called ‘Splice’. It stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as two scientists who successfully splice human DNA with animal DNA. It premiered in October at Sitges International Festival of Fantastic and Horror Cinema in Spain. Looks like it is going to show up every where else early 2010.

Filmed in Toronto and Hamilton Ontario, starring a Canadian actress and directed by the guy who made ‘Cube’. I’m definitely curious.

Even in a movie about the pain of Alzheimer’s you manage to look smoking hot Nina Dobrev, just keep doing what you be doing!

Written By: Sarah Polley
Directed By: Sarah Polley

There’s good reason why we haven’t seen many films about Alzheimer’s, it is a hard disease to capture and its even harder to put forth a testimony on Alzheimer’s that doesn’t degenerate into nonstop sappy sentimentality. For a woman taking on her first feature film Sarah Polley certainly didn’t aim low and the results show a woman who I hope to see direct many more features in the future. I guess at this time I should declare my fandom of Ms. Polley, there hasn’t been a role I haven’t liked her in yet and now that has transferred to her time behind the camera. The combination of the subject matter of Away From Her and my fandom of Polley made me approach this film with a lot of trepidation. It’s never pleasant to see someone you like fail after all.

Enough of my Polley fandom, back to Away From Her and why it is a fantastic directorial debut from the former child star. The story in Away From Her isn’t about Alzheimer’s and that is how it avoids the aforementioned sappy sentimentality. The focus in Away From Her is on Grant and the decisions he must make in his arduous path of letting go of the woman he once knew. It is painful to watch him struggle with the loss of his wife because she isn’t really lost. Polley frames the movie so that we feel Fiona’s presence, we know that she is still around at all times, but she isn’t Grant’s Fiona anymore. The true pain and emotion comes through watching Grant deal with his loss, because while we feel sympathy for Fiona she isn’t struggling through the process like Grant.

None of what I have just written would be possible without the performances by Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent. As I have said in the past I am not the best at breaking down acting and putting into words why certain performances work for me or don’t work for me. I can tell you that I was captivated by the performances of both Christie and Pinsent, and that without them I doubt that Away From Her would have anywhere near the level of resonance.

I did struggle with Away From Her at times and that was mainly due to Polley’s odd choice of a fractured narrative. At first I was okay with this approach, thinking that it was meant to mirror Fiona’s fractured existence. As it became clear that the movie was about Grant and not Fiona, the fractured style became more distracting than anything else. If there’s one thing Away From Her is missing it is consistent forward momentum, it’s very good at contemplating but it could have used a better approach in reaching its contemplative state.

As far as first time efforts go you could do much worse than Away From Her, this is an effort that Sarah Polley should be proud of. The delivery is off in places, but this is an emotionally honest look at a tough subject that avoids melodrama and sentimentality. Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent top off a nicely constructed cast, while Polley shows a sure directorial hand for the most part. It’s not a pleasant experience, but Away From Her is honest in its presentation of Alzheimer’s and the human emotion that accompanies the disease. Sarah Polley does well in her feature film debut, hopefully she can follow it up with similar efforts.

Rating:

***1/2

Cheers,
Bill

Sleeping on the job.

I’m one of those people who dreams pretty much every night. My Mother is the same and I guess it’s one of those things that’s been passed down into my genes from hers. She documents her dreams the moment she wakes up in a little journal she keeps by the bed so she can scribe down the things she remembers whilst they are still clear in her head. I’ve never thought about trying this until today.

My dreams are fucking peculiar to say the least (Oohh, Zack Synder’s Dawn of the Dead remake is on and it stars the lovely Sarah Polley - I’m very easily distracted aren’t I? All it takes is zombies and a pretty girl to take my attention away from what I’m writing. Actually, I’m not sure why I feel the need to type about how my thoughts have slipped elsewhere. I guess I’m trying to be honest and show you guys the process of me writing and how easily that process is disrupted –Sarah Polley’s gentleman friend just got fucked up by a nasty-ass little girl zombie and now he is a zombie trying to feast on her blood!! Now a Priest with a gun got splattered by an Ambulance!! Fuck me, all hell is breaking loose here!! — I’m going to turn the TV off from now on when I’m writing.) and I often remember them vividly the moment I wake up and then forget them totally within 5 minutes.

Last night I dreamt that a selection of ghostly buses where passing through the adjacent walls of my back yard whilst I watched from the bathroom window that looks down on the yard with all my teeth fallen out in the sink. That’s all I can remember now aside from the occasional really random flashback I have when something reminds me of the contents. So I’ve got myself a little book and pen that’s going next to my bed for when I wake up in the morning with the previous slumber’s dream still fresh in my mind. I’ll even keep a few posts coming here and there and talk about the really wierd ones that I have.

Anyone else have any strange dreams they’d like to share with the world?

When Jake Weber’s character on “Medium,” Joe Dubois, referred to George Romero’s zombie flick “Dawn of the Dead” on last week’s episode (which cleverly inserted Joe’s wife, Allison, into the original “Night of the Living Dead”), the significance definitely wasn’t lost on me.

In a slick nod to the brilliantly good 2004 remake of the film – which just happens to star Jake – his character off-handedly says, “That’s not the one where everyone gets trapped in the mall, are they?”

Why yes, Joe, it is. The film, which also stars Sarah Polley and Ving Rhames, follows a small group of people who barricade themselves inside a mall as the world is quickly taken over by the undead.

Here’s the trailer from the film (look closely for Jake), and if you haven’t seen it I highly recommend you do:

Next film for Halloween is Dawn Of The Dead remake.

Based on the George Romero 1979 gore classic, this remake takes place as the United States is overrun (after a plague) by millions of corpses who walk the earth as cannibalistic zombies. A small group of survivors, including a nurse (Sarah Polley) and a police officer (Ving Rhames), try to find shelter within a massive shopping mall. But the zombies have a kind of sense memory and start arriving — in droves — for a shopping spree.

This is not so much of a remake as it is an update of the 1979 classic. The whole premise remains faithful to the original but then after that makes its own elements, which really was a good thing after all.

Dawn Of The Dead really does succeed because its use of exciting action and most of all, the gore. The added on blood and violence really does make this film exciting and fun to watch. Also, in the original the zombies were really slow and if you just ran they would’ve never caught up to you. Now, they are fast as a bullet and you can’t run or hide barely, and I think that is what makes this film even better.

The film also has little unriddle social commentary, and zero exposition. For instance, when a government official is asked “what are these things? are they contagious?” he simply responds “We don’t know!”. Giving you this idea of nobody knowing what is going on.

Zack Snyder, in his directorial debut, really does show some really great direction in this film. Many of the scenes he films with the action are slick and feature a lot of good camera angles that really do fit the part of the action.

I only had little minor problems with this film that aren’t as bad as you would expect. In George A. Romero’s 1979 Dawn Of The Dead, there was a lot more comedy and a satirical take on these zombies and the incidents that are being caused. I felt like this film was toned one way throughout, and although it did have some comedy it was more blatant than wise, as the original one was.

I also found the origins of why these zombies came to be very unknown and I wish I knew more of what was actually going on.

Consensus: Dawn Of The Dead is a gruesome, violent, tasteless, and well-directed take on the 1979 classic.

9/10=Fulll Pricee!!!!

Gerard Butler as Beowulf the Hero

The Danes are in big trouble. The troll Grendel (Ingvar E. Sigurosson) is angry and keeps attacking their village, killing men at random.  The famous hero Beowulf (Gerard Butler) takes his men and comes to help. Most men in town are dead, the king (Stellan Skarsgard) is depressed and killing the “monster” seems harder than Beowulf has initially thought. So he occasionally asks the town witch Selma (Sarah Polley) for guidance. The King however might have left some crucial information out. Something we see in the opening scene: Danes corner and kill Grendel’s father, with the young troll witnessing all of it.

I have actually no idea whether you will like the movie or not. I didn’t. Sure the landscape is amazing and Butler always makes a convincing and charismatic hero (300, Atilla) but there is so much missing from the film. If you are not particularly fond of the mythical tale, there is not much to be enjoyed here. The characters aren’t likable, the king doesn’t quite have many leadership attitudes, the witch’s accent is totally different from the rest…It is of course  a weird story with many odd aspects. Aside from the revenge-seeking outcast Troll, you have the most depressed king you have probably ever seen, a “monster” that you don’t sympathize with and aren’t afraid of and mostly men dying in a vain attempt to kill a beast, while you can think of quite a few strategies on how they could have killed him so easily…

Maybe you can just give yourself 15-20 minutes into the movie. Whatever vibe you get from the beginning is likely to continue. And I can think of many mythical stories that are more engaging. The current IMDB rating is 6.2, voted by over 6000 people. Your call.

Scene from Beowulf and Grendel

After spending most of the morning checking out VF’s Best Dressed, I began to wander around the site only to find so many more amazing pictures of great fashion, great actors, and great inspirations.

I love this view of Hollywood, don’t you?

Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve, Meryl Streep, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Vanessa Redgrave, Chloë Sevigny, Sophia Loren, and Penélope Cruz, photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the cover of the April 2001 Hollywood Issue.

Sischy writes, “Cruz isn’t cookie-cutter pretty—she even has a bit of a schnoz—but her unusual features come together in a memorable aria of real beauty.” Photographed in Segovia, Spain, by Annie Leibovitz for the September 2001 issue.

Photographed in Segovia, Spain, by Annie Leibovitz for the September 2001 issue.

Shakira

Selma Blair, photographed by Norman Jean Roy at the El Mirage Dry Lake Bed, near Los Angeles, for the October 2008 issue. Read “Letting Herself Go,” by Jim Windolf. Styled by Jessica Diehl.

Jessica Biel, photographed by Norman Jean Roy in Beverly Hills for the September 2006 issue. Styled by Deda Coben.

Scarlett Johansson, photographed by Annie Leibovitz at Pfeiffer Beach, in Big Sur, California, for the August 2005 issue. Styled by Lori Goldstein.

Isabel Lucas, VF June 2009

Star Trek star Chris Pine, photographed by Mark Seliger at Hinano Cafe, in Venice Beach, California, for the May 2009 issue. Read “To Boldly Star,” by Krista Smith. Styled by David Thomas.

James Franco, photographed by Doug Inglish for the December 2008 issue. Read “Franco cum Laude,” by David Kamp. Styled by Sam Broekema.

Tony Bennett and friends, photographed by Annie Leibovitz at the Loew’s Theatre in Jersey City, New Jersey, for the August 2006 issue. Styled by Wendy Schecter.

APRIL 1995: “HOLLYWOOD HIGHEST—THE CLASS OF 2000” Jennifer Jason Leigh, Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman, Patricia Arquette, Linda Fiorentino, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Julianne Moore, Angela Bassett, and Sandra Bullock.

APRIL 1996: “BOYS’ TOWN” Tim Roth, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Benicio Del Toro, Michael Rapaport, Stephen Dorff, Johnathon Schaech, David Arquette, Will Smith, and Skeet Ulrich.

APRIL 1997: “THE NEXT WAVE” Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Claire Danes, Renée Zellweger, Minnie Driver, Alison Elliott, Jada Pinkett, Jennifer Lopez, Charlize Theron, and Fairuza Balk.

APRIL 1998: “THE HOT NEXT WAVE” Joaquin Phoenix, Vince Vaughn, Natalie Portman, Djimon Hounsou, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Claire Forlani, Gretchen Mol, Christina Ricci, Ed Furlong, and Rufus Sewell.

APRIL 1999: “NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK” Adrien Brody, Thandie Newton, Monica Potter, Reese Witherspoon, Julia Stiles, Leelee Sobieski, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Polley, Norman Reedus, Anna Friel, Omar Epps, Kate Hudson, Vinessa Shaw, and Barry Pepper.

APRIL 2003: “ALPHA LIST” Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Jack Nicholson, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Jude Law, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Ewan McGregor, and Matt Damon.

APRIL 2004: “SEND IN THE GOWNS” Julianne Moore, Jennifer Connelly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts, Salma Hayek, Jennifer Aniston, Kirsten Dunst, Diane Lane, Lucy Liu, Hilary Swank, Alison Lohman, Scarlett Johansson, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

MARCH 2005: “NOT SO DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES” Uma Thurman, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Claire Danes, Scarlett Johansson, Rosario Dawson, Ziyi Zhang, Kerry Washington, Kate Bosworth, and Sienna Miller.

Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent look out onto an uncertain future.

(Lionsgate) Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Wendy Crewson, Michael Murphy, Kristen Thomson, Alberta Watson, Grace Lynn Kung, Stacey LaBerge. Directed by Sarah Polley.

One of the horrors of aging is Alzheimer’s disease. The effect of the disease on the afflicted person is devastating, but the effect on the loved ones can be even more harsh.

Grant Anderson (Pinsent) and his wife Fiona (Christie) have a good life. They’ve retired to a beautiful cabin in rural Ontario and live comfortably, surrounded by the accumulations of a long life together. However, there are some disturbing signs of change coming into their lives; Fiona is growing increasingly more forgetful, and has started to do some odd things, as when they are putting dishes away after a meal and she puts the frying pan into the freezer.

Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, the practical Fiona has no desire to subject Grant to the agony of caring for her while she slowly and inevitably deteriorates. She makes the unilateral decision to check out a local nursing home. At first upset at his wife for acting on her own, he bows to her strong will and sensibility and drives her to the facility.

Once there, they find a pleasant environment with a caring staff but Grant balks when the facility’s director (Watson) informs him that he won’t be allowed to see his wife for 30 days while she adjusts to her new residence. He begs Fiona to reconsider, but she is firm and with a final sweet goodbye, sends him away. When he returns, the changes in her are pronounced. She’s developed a relationship with Aubrey (Murphy), a mute patient whom she cares for as a nurse for a patient. Whether the relationship is more than that isn’t clear; Grant wasn’t faithful to her early in their marriage and he wonders if she’s taking revenge for that. Some days she seems to recognize him, others it’s clear she has no clue who he is. Devastated, Grant takes advice from a sympathetic nurse (Thomson) and Aubrey’s wife (Dukakis), a practical, plain-spoken woman who sees the inevitable but can’t quite bring herself to let go.

Director Polley, best known as an actress in such films as The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and the “John Adams” miniseries as well as an impressive roster of indie movies, proves to be a director of enormous potential. She brings a deft touch to a subject matter that could easily become maudlin in less capable hands. Her gaze is unflinching and honest but never feels forced. The Andersons are robust and handsome in their age, but they aren’t archetypes; they’re real people with flaws and no clear direction of what to do. That’s a tribute to the original Alice Munro short story it was adapted from and also to Polley’s writing for which she was Oscar-nominated.

Most of the movie takes place in the winter, but Polley resists the temptation to make the film overcast and gloomy. Instead, nearly everything takes place in bright winter sunlight reflecting off the snow that sparkles like diamonds. The winter metaphor works for that reason without becoming cliché.

Christie and Pinsent are in every scene, either separately or together, and they both deliver outstanding performances. While Christie was recognized with an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win, I found Pinsent’s performance more riveting as he captures the agony and desperation of a good man seeing the love of his life deteriorate before his eyes.

Despite the acclaim and Oscar buzz, this Canadian production didn’t receive widespread distribution here in the States. Nevertheless this is a movie worth seeking out not just for the subject matter, which may be off-putting for those with phobias about aging and the issues that the elderly face, but also for the on-screen performances which are as compelling as any you’ll see in a small film like this. You may also want to rent it if for no other reason, to mark the occasion of the emergence of a great director who is bound to release some wonderful movies as her career progresses.

WHY RENT THIS: Outstanding performances by the entire cast, particularly the two leads. Beautiful snow-covered exteriors in rural Ontario. An impressive script that never stoops to emotional manipulation or maudlin clichés.

WHY RENT SOMETHING ELSE: Subject matter may be too age-centric for some. Some of the subplots are merely touched upon without satisfying resolutions.

FAMILY VALUES: The subject matter may be a bit too intense for kids wondering why grandpa is so forgetful.

TRIVIAL PURSUIT: Lionsgate paid $750,000 for the rights to distribute this film.

NOTABLE DVD EXTRAS: Nothing notable on the American release; however Canadian readers might look into the 2-Disc special edition for a short film from Polley entitled I Shout Love as well as additional film commentary from Christie.

FINAL RATING: 9/10

TOMORROW: Strayed (Les Egares)

Splice (dir: Vincenzo Natali, 2009)

El pasado martes tuvimos la oportunidad de asistir a otra de las pelis más esperadas en Sitges, Splice, de la que muy poco se sabía antes de su respectivo pase. De hecho, por Internet circulan pocas fotos, la mayoría son todas las mismas, y no se encuentra ni el tráiler. Y seguramente, su director tenga algo que ver en todo esto…

Vincenzo Natali nos presentó en catalán (sí, sí… habéis leído bien, en catalán) su película, por así decirlo más intimista, puesto que este señor ha tardado más de 10 años para llevar a cabo a las grandes pantallas dicho proyecto (1999). Evidentemente, todo fan del cine fantástico recuerda al Sr. Natali por esta joya del cine de terror y Sci-Fi como es Cube (1997), una obra magna en toda regla, y que cuenta con dos secuelas más, Cube 2: Hypercube (dir: Andrzej Sekula, 2002) y Cube Zero (dir: Ernie Barbarash, 2004).

En la presentación también pudimos escuchar unas palabras en catalán del productor Steven Hoban y luego, en los créditos vimos que Guillermo del Toro, es productor ejecutivo. Pero Vincenzo Natali podemos afirmar que es el padre de la criatura en muchos aspectos, puesto que se encarga de la historia, guión y realización de Splice, y eso, se nota!

Splice nos narra la historia de dos brillantes bioquímicos, Clive (Adrien Brody) y Elsa (Sarah Polley) trabajando para los laboratorios Newstead y que están desarrollando un importante proyecto genético. Dicho proyecto se encarga de la combinación de cadenas de ADN de todos los animales conocidos, y que como resultado dan lugar al nacimiento de dos especímenes, Fred & Ginger, genéticamente casi perfectos.
Clivd & Elsa (que son pareja) están increíblemente emocionados, acaban de descubrir algo único para la humanidad, la posibilidad de que muchas enfermedades genéticas puedan curarse o tratarse. Pero sus laboratorios, les cierran el grifo (chiringuito) y les piden que se centren en la Fase 2 del proyecto, es decir, en el aislamiento de la proteína CD-356, que permitirá la obtención a Newstead de grandes beneficios con los laboratorios farmacéuticos.

Evidentemente, esto no es lo que habían planeado Clive & Elsa, que ante el logro que tienen antes sus ojos, deciden hacer un paso más allá, y combinar el único ADN que les hace falta con Fred & Ginger, el ADN humano. Para ello, se encierran en su laboratorio personal, NERD, y empiezan a realizar pruebas, hasta que dan con la buena. Para desarrollar esta nueva criatura necesitan las instalaciones de Newstead, así que infrigen cualquier código ético, moral y profesional… Pero el fin, justificará los medios!
Deben mantener estas pruebas secretas, incluso del resto del equipo del proyecto “oficial”, incluyendo Gavin (Brandon McGibbon), hermano de Clive.

Elsa y la criatura

La gestación y desarrollo del nuevo ser es todo un misterio para nuestros protagonistas, y como no tendrán ningún antecedente al respecto, sufrirán complicaciones y variaciones en lo que ellos consideran que sucedería. Por fin, la criatura (y aunque sea con algunos problemas) nace, y es cuando vemos el conflicto entre Clive y Elsa, puesto que Elsa, quiere seguir adelante y Clive, no.
El nuevo ser perfecto es muy raro, pero ya desde el primer momento nos enseña que evoluciona, se transforma hacía lo que entendemos a una criatura más y más perfecta. Clive persiste en todo momento, en que deben cargarse al nuevo ser, que ya han ibo demasiado lejos, pero Elsa se lo impide.

Conforme pasa el tiempo (ellos pensaban que la criatura no duraría mucho), este ser va cogiendo forma más humanoide, y va aprendiendo aspectos cotidianos, así como expresarse con Elsa. A partir de entonces, Elsa llama a la criatura DREN, que son las siglas de NERD y que la criatura ve en una camiseta de Elsa, y compone esta palabra.
Elsa acabará por desarrollar un instinto maternal y de sobre-protección hacía Dren, y Dren le corresponderá en todo momento, aunque no siempre se portará “bien”.
Mientras tanto, Newstead les exige resultados a nuestra brillante pareja, es decir, la obtención de la proteína CD-356, y como cada vez les van cerrando más el cerco a nuestro brillantes científicos, deben trasladar a Dren a la granja donde se crió, Elsa.

A partir de ahí, la madre naturaleza y la evolución de las especies, harán el resto, mostrando a Dren como lo que realmente es, un ser superior genéticamente hablando…

Debo advertiros que todos aquellos que esperéis ver grandes dosis de sangre, gore o violencia en Splice, no las encontraréis, porque Splice es una cinta de ciencia ficción, y no de terror. La grandeza de este fiilm radica en otros aspectos, como por ejemplo, los increíbles efectos especiales, que son capaces de desarrollar a Dren. Y es que cuando ves la película, puedes ver su reflejo en el suelo, los movimientos son increíbles, y no se da la típica sensación de digitalización que en otras películas se da… y eso, se ve reflejado en los créditos, la de gente que ha trabajado para desarrollar a Dren!

Tampoco creo que Splice sea la típica película de Sci-Fi que resuma su argumento en vamos a jugar a ser Dios. Mas bien, es una interpretación de la naturaleza y de la teoría de la evolución de las especies, desde lo desconocido y lo anormal, puesto que para mí, la creación de Dren está más que justificada en el primer momento, que los laboratorios se niegan a desarrollar curas para enfermedades tales como el Parkinson, Alzheimer, cáncer, etc, etc. Ética y moral deben quedar en segundo plano ante una praxis hecha para el bien de la Humanidad!

También, me gustaría comentaros que Dren en su estado evolutivo máximo, me recuerda a una Quimera, ese ser de la mitología griega, que era cabeza de león, cuerpo de cabra y cuartos traseros serpiente o dragón. Además, en la genética se utiliza este término para designar que un organismo o tejido está creado por dos o más fuentes genéticas. Y es que Splice no sería lo mismo sin Dren, magníficamente intrepretado por la guapa Delphine Chanéac, y que uno de los grandes aciertos de la criatura es darle una apariencia semi-humana.

DREN

En definitiva, Splice no defraudó a nadie, bueno supongo que un poco, a los que querían ver más casquería o sangre, y que en cambio, con Splice se encontraron con un film diferente. Esperemos que el Sr. Natali no nos tarde 10 años más en hacernos una película y que su próximo proyecto ya esté gestado y se esté desarrollando bien!

We are Splice Masters!

Splice est le nouveau projet de Vincenzo Natali, qui il y a quelques années, nous avait mis le crane en vrac avec son Cube et qui tente de récidiver depuis, et on ne peut pas dire que son Cypher ait réussi. Splice est produit par Guillermo Del Toro, et est interprété par Adrien Brody et Sarah Polley, qui campent deux scientifiques un peu en marge, qui combinent de l’ADN humain avec celui d’animaux de toutes sortes, créant un organisme qui mute en quelque chose de totalement inattendu, et potentiellement dangereux.

Bizarrement, il n’y a toujours pas de date de sortie, et il est possible qu’il aille directement prendre la poussière sur les rayons DVD, et serait même retitré Hybrid.

Voici donc un clip, disponible sur RottenTomatoes, histoire de voir ce qu’on pourrait louper… Et ça a l’air vraiment pas mal.

Jornada amb marcat accent català, gràcies a la participació de Sergi López, de nou protagonista en un film francès, aquest cop d’una comèdia apocalíptica, Els darrers dies del món (Les Derniers Jurs du Monde), i a The Frost, adaptació de l’obra d’Ibsen El petit Eyolf i dirigida per Ferran Audí.

D’altra banda, han hagut títols destacats com Bronson i IP Man, però de moment parlarem de la pel·lícula que més ens ha agradat de les que hem pogut veure: Mr. Nobody, de Jaco Van Dormael i protagonitzada per Jared Leto (segurament, el més fluixet del film), Sarah Polley, Diane Kruger i Rhys Ifans.

Mr. Nobody s’embarca de ple en un realisme màgic a mig camí entre Synecdoque New York i La ciencia del sueño, afortunadament més propera a l’univers de Kaufman que al de Gondry. La història narra la vida de Nemo Nobody (Jared Leto); el punt d’inflexió es situa quan ha de trïar entre viure amb el seu pare o amb sa mare, després de que es divorcïin; a partir d’aquí, s’obre un ventall de possibilitats sobre els diferents camins que podria haver trïat Nemo a la seva vida, amb una reflexió de Tennessee Williams de rerefons: tots els camins que es poden escollir són tan importants com l’escollit.

La pel·li, per nosaltres una de les fermes candidates al premi a millor pel·li del festival, agradarà i molt quan s’estreni. Esperem que l’espectacular forma de la proposta, un collage visualment captivador, no camufli el  que és una contundent reflexió existencial.

There have been lots of photos from this film (back in November 2008 and some back in February 2009).

Here is our first look at Vincenzo Natali’s Splice, starring Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley and executive produced by Guillermo del Toro.

Elsa and Clive, two young rebellious scientists, defy legal and ethical boundaries and forge ahead with a dangerous experiment: splicing together human and animal DNA to create a new organism. Named “Dren” (Delphine Chanéac), the creature rapidly develops from a deformed female infant into a beautiful but dangerous winged human-chimera, who forges a bond with both of her creators – only to have that bond turn deadly.

Dren still has the whole Herr Starr from Preacher thing going on with her head.

En algún momento Terry Gilliam fue un gran héroe para mi. De chiquito me impactó mucho con esta peli llena de fantasía y de humor: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Peli que dirigió en 1988, cuando apenas tenía yo once años y cuando no había escuchado  nada de Monty Python, Time Bandits o incluso Brazil pero seguramente lo investigué de alguna forma porque después cuando dirigió The Fisher King en 1991 y luego Twelve Monkeys en 1995 poco después de haber yo entrado a la u ya sabía quien era. Lo conocía muy bien y lo admiraba hasta el fanatismo.

En algún momento sus pelis empezaron a espaciarse y después de Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas en 1998 hasta el día de hoy ha desarrollado tan sólo tres pelis (The Brothers Grimm y Tideland en 2005 y The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus en 2009 peli que aún no he visto). Muy triste.

Anoche me vi otra vez, Las Aventuras y fue sencillamente maravilloso recordar la ternura con la que aborda Gilliam el tema. Un humor sencillo, una aventura llena de juegos narrativos, dramáticos y actorales. Una fábula de un héroe en decadencia que logra ganarle una vez más la partida a la muerte.

El reparto igual que la peli es fantástico: John Neville como Hieronymus Karl Frederick Baron von Munchausen, Eric Idle, Sarah Polley muy muy chiquita, Oliver Reed, Uma Thurman encarnando como ninguna otra la Venus de Botticelli, Jonathan Pryce, Robin Williams y hasta Sting.

No me canso de verla y volver a ser un niño encantado con esta maravillosa peli.

En la literatura norteamericana del siglo xx abundan los cronistas de la vida cotidiana, los creadores de pequeñas estampas donde se muestran las relaciones humanas y en las que se dice mucho más de lo que se muestra, siguiendo la máxima de que un relato ha de ser como un iceberg, del que sólo se vea una pequeña parte y el resto quede bajo la superficie. John Cheever, Harold Brodkey, William Maxwell, Raymond Carver, Flannery O´Connor…la lista de grandes cuentistas es interminable; la canadiense Alice Munro forma parte de ella.

        Autora de varias colecciones de relatos a cual mejor, Alice Munro ha llamado recientemente la atención del cine: la actriz Sarah Polley la adaptó en Lejos de ella (Away from her, 2006), su ópera-prima como directora, y parece ser que Jane Campion proyecta llevar a la pantalla el libro Escapada (Runaway, 2004).

        Uno de mis cuentos preferidos de Munro es El Jack Randa Hotel, incluido en el libro Secretos a voces (Open secrets, 1994). En él, a traves de un juego epistolar que mantienen una mujer, haciéndose pasar por otra, y su marido, un profesor que vive ahora con una de sus alumnas, la autora nos muestra los celos, el rencor, la debilidad de unos sentimientos y la fortaleza de otros, la necesidad de volver a lo que seguimos queriendo y la obligación de demostrar que nos lo merecemos:

        “Las palabras más deseadas pueden cambiar. Algo puede ocurrirles, mientras se espera. ”Amor, necesidad, perdón. Amor, necesidad, para siempre.” El sonido de esas palabras puede convertirse en un tumulto, un ruido de taladradoras en la calle. Y lo único que se puede hacer es echar a correr, para no someterse a ellas por la fuerza de la costumbre.”

        “Ahora, tú sabrás si quieres seguirme”.

        Un cuento magistral que me recuerda vagamente a El infierno tan temido, uno de los imprescindibles de Onetti, mucho más oscuro y terrible: mientras Munro otorga una salida a sus personajes, los de Onetti se condenan irremediablemente. 

             El volumen Secretos a voces está publicado por RBA.

Diane Kruger and Jared Leto during a scene in Mr. Nobody

Before the second screening of Mr. Nobody at TIFF’09, the film was introduced by a volunteer festival coordinator; a contingency for director Jaco van Dormael, who was already en route to the airport that day.

“This film will blow your mind,” the volunteer said to the chuckling crowd. “No, seriously,” he continued straight faced. “Good luck wrapping your head around it.” With that he smiled and walked calmly off stage right.

Let it not be said he didn’t warn us.

With Mr. Nobody, writer/director Van Dormael seems to make it his personal mission to mindfuck your brain, eyes and general sense of conceptual narrative into submission.

And like most experiences where you get your brains fucked out, the beautiful moments are plentiful. Even when you don’t know what’s going on or why, you’re still enjoying the hell out of it.

Easily classifiable as an art-house experimental dramadyromanciencefiction film, Mr. Nobody stars Jared Leto as the titular Nemo Nobody. At once a curmudgeonly old man in the year 2092 and an unborn child picking his parents (and every other possible permutation in between), Nobody deals heavily in alternate dimensions; exploring how the simplest decisions, events or even words can completely alter the trajectory of our lives.

Having said that, let me assure you: this is not Sliding Doors.

Or, perhaps it is, but only so much as a paper airplane is like an Airbus A380. The film’s tagline; “Nothing is real, everything is possible” is not just a clever marketing slogan — it is an accurate and succinct description of what to expect from this movie.

Despite the convoluted plot (or, more honestly, inconceivably incomprehensible plot), what you’ll see when watching this film is enough to keep you riveted and, importantly, forgiving.

Subtle colour themes differentiate realities and stories without being overly gaudy, Van Dormael crafts some incredibly complex transitions, the cinematography steals your breath from forests to outer space and a utopian CGI future is as polished and believable as any ever set to film. Mr. Nobody is easily — undoubtedly — one of the most visually jaw-dropping movies this year.

Moreover, just because the greater story is confusing doesn’t mean there aren’t some wonderful parts. Sarah Polley is brilliant (and under utilized) as a manic depressive housewife, Leto manages to show surprising range in his myriad roles and teenage actors Juno Temple and Toby Regbo portray Nobody’s adolescent romance and sexual discovery poignantly, down to the rawest nerve and emotion.

Clocking in at a sprawling 140 minutes, Mr. Nobody is a polarizing film. A friend who was at the premiere gala mentioned that one of the questions posed to the French director afterwards was simply: “Come on. Really?” Such is its ability to come off as pretentious post-modern puff.

Make no mistake though, technically, visually and even if you don’t like or understand it, narratively, Mr. Nobody pushes the boundaries of cinema past all your wildest expectations.

Give it a chance and you’ll come out positively glowing.