Who doesn’t have a hero complex? That drive to help the man as he’s kicked to the ground, or perhaps to just do all that you can to make the world a better place. Well the LA Times as well as LACMA have decided to dedicate an entire festival to that exact thing called “The Hero Complex Film Festival” which spans across four days of epic films and even more epic discussions with the creators of these cinematic works of genius. While most of the films are based on comic book heroes or some intergalactic ones, the moral of the festival resonates strong as you listen to the masters talk about their works after they show on the silver screen. It was my pleasure to attend, and still continue to attend the festival, so without further adeu, day one and all it’s glory.
Day 1- Warren Beatty; Dick Tracy
Some big news came out of the Hero Complex Film Festival on their very first day. It seems the director, producer, actor and writer Warren Beatty is in the process of making a sequel to his smash hit Dick Tracy, which is based off the old comic strip/animated show.
But that’s not all we learned from Mr. Beatty, he also decided to share some long drawn out wisdom for all the potential filmmakers out there. A few great quotes include “Casting is writing.” “The best person to ask about actors is actors.” Take what you will potential Spielberg’s and Lucas’.
For those of you who have seen Dick Tracy, you are fully aware of the extreme visual styles that Beatty chose, he decided to let us know a bit about that as well, talking about the difficulties of getting the lighting just right to set the mood, and to use the makeup to his advantage.
While most of the discussion was the on the technical aspects of the film and what it was like working with the big cast he had, we couldn’t help but press further about the sequel but every questioned that dare dance along that line was immediately shut down. “I won’t talk about it…I want to get it just right…talking about movies before their made ruins them.” Interesting that he’s so reserved about it.
Thanks Geoff Boucher for this great day, and I’ll be updating you more as I continue on down the path of the heroes before me. Expect even bigger news to follow during this exciting film festival!
Last Thursday I had the wonderful privilege to sit down with the three men who were responsible in bringing about Tron: Legacy. Continue reading “Tron: Legacy Interviews”
A review of the french film Heartbeats(Les Amours Imaginaires) following it’s trip to Cannes and a myriad of other festivals.
Tis the season for romance. A new year, spring with the sun shining, and even tomorrow being Valentine’s Day it seems only appropriate that I was taken on a journey through the life of three friends in a modern exploration of what love truly entails.
The film Les Amours Imaginaires or Heartbeats, is simply that. A love story that is shared when two friends both fall for the same individual. While the plot does nothing groundbreaking, the realistic acting and dialogue help bring the film to life like no other romance film has.
The story circles around Francis and Marie as they try their very hardest to not fall for the mysterious “self-acclaimed Adonis” that is Nicolas. There is a bit of predictability though when the duo are first talking about him, both coming to conclusion that he supposedly not their type; and that is where the story begins. Nicolas, a very happy go lucky individual, doesn’t seem to favor either in any way, but there are certain nuances about him when he’s with the duo that would suggest otherwise. It isn’t long for both Marie and Francis to fall, and fall hard. Cue the struggle not only with themselves as they try and vie for a man’s attention whose aspirations in life seem to be that of wishing to not be tied down, coupled with the war between one another as they attempt to garner his affections, it seems you have quite the debacle. The rest of the film follows classic suit of watching them struggle until in the end a conclusion that fits all three perfectly comes about.While this story by no means is terribly unique, everything the filmmaker does thrusts the film forward into a list of films in my heart that involve the words breath taking, beautiful and deep.
One of the biggest things that is prominent throughout the film is the use of cinematography to really show off the story. Xavier Dolan knows exactly what to do behind and in front of the camera as one of the few directors that can really act and bring their work to a believable level. With stunning use of color, depth of field and with, an albeit a bit too much slow motion; Heartbeats is a visually stunning spectacle that ensnares the viewer and takes them on the journey through pure visual exploration. To say Dolan knows how to make art would be an understatement.
The film as a whole has very minor defects, as previously mentioned the use of slow motion nearly every five to ten minutes, was a bit much. However another thing bothered me that actually couples with that last sentiment. Every now and again in the film you see Marie and Frankie become intimate with some random individual. Once again Dolan uses color to suggest the mood in the room. Red for passion, green for envy, yellow for bitterness and blue for sadness, all work really well. However if you are going to do that, at least make the scene somewhat enjoyable. It was very awkward to sit there and watch characters I’d fallen in love with be in these situations where it was extremely apparent that they did not enjoy this individuals company. Other than that with a mix of some somber music the scenes are still at least good, but a little less enticing than the other portions of the film.
The characters were fantastic, all believable, all well acted and I actually would miss every single one when they weren’t on screen. With the lovely trio beginning to rip at the seams you see that a bit more rapidly which in turn ripped my heart out as well. Marie with her snide comments and “I’m better than everyone in this room” (while maintaining a sense of shyness) was simultaneously charming and vicious to watch. Frankie, with his struggling coping with being a homo sexual who has been “marked” plenty of times is a deep character that when I originally sat down for the film did not expect to see. As the other characters fell in love with Nicolas, I couldn’t help to avoid it either. His charm, intellect but also mysteriousness really plays into the core of attraction which first ensnares both Frankie and Marie to him. The characters are a brilliant balanced triangle to say the absolute least, and bit off kilter as a whole because of the unique predicament they all find themselves in.
When I first saw the trailer for Heartbeats, I had no doubt in my mind that I would love it. With a brilliant soundtrack, absolutely stunning use of the camera, and terrific acting and dialogue this is sure enough to entice all lovers of romance, film, and the French language. Xavier Dolan, has now been to Cannes film festival twice, and will more than likely continue returning there if he continues on this route. I have no doubt in my mind we will be seeing nothing but incredible work coming from Dolan for quite some time. All in all, do your best to see this film, even if it doesn’t sound exactly for you, you’ll at least find some charm in every single scene.
Heartbeats will be released in theaters on February 25th, 2011.
Hey guys we decided that every month we will be launching a Top Five list of releases for films (DVD and Theatrical), video games, music and any other stuff we like. Enjoy! Continue reading “Top Five Releases for January: Film”
David O. Russell will direct the upcoming Uncharted Drake’s Fortune video game based film adaptation. Who would you want to play the leading role of Drake?
