You came to see a race today. To see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want you to do more than just watch a race.
From the Archives: The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
18 Jul
Any picture associated with directorial visionary Terry Gilliam is always going to rouse the public’s attention, yet the tragic death of Heath Ledger midway through filming has ensured that the name “Doctor Parnassus” has been on everyone’s radar for more than 18 months. Much has been made of Gilliam’s fervent determination to finish the film and particularly the ingenious casting of Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell to fill Ledger’s void. Gilliam executes it with gusto, and — as should be expected from such an auteur — transports the audience into a visually fantastical world tinged with a didactic message about the importance and power of the imagination.
Shock Corridor (1963)
18 Jul
All of the men want me, Johnny. But I want you. And you – you want the Pulitzer Prize.
The Vault: Batman Forever (1995)
15 Jul
“Riddle me this, riddle me that, who’s afraid of the big, black bat?”
The year is 1995 and thus spake The Riddler (a maniacal Jim Carrey) in Joel Schumacher’s utterly bonkers take on the Batman universe, Batman Forever. Well, the answer was of course absolutely nobody. Taking over directorial duties from he of the inky heart Tim Burton (who moved into the Producer’s chair), Schumacher, presumably in thrall of nervy Warner Bros execs, instead applied a neon polish to Burton’s grimy Gotham and discarded the brooding tone of Bat instalments one and two in favour of camp, vampish comedia. Continue reading
The Hunter (2011)
9 Jul
The premise of one man’s enigmatic hunt for one of nature’s most elusive beasts is a well-worn one. Herman Melville’s Moby Dick immediately springs to mind and there are evident shades of Ahab in Willem Dafoe’s Martin David, the focussed and determined protagonist of Daniel Nettheim’s adaptation of Julia Leigh’s 1999 novel The Hunter.
crash/burn 