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Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Directed by Kerry Conran
By James Keast
The key to success in politics is to control the agenda: to make sure that you dictate what gets discussed, keeping attention away from difficult questions. Films can be marketed in similar ways, and with last year’s retro-fest Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, it’s all about the look. That’s what the draw is, that’s what the DVD is about and that’s all anyone talks about. Forget story, character development or narrative momentum; it’s all about what Kerry Conran achieved visually, first on a commercial Apple II computer, then with a team of animators behind him. The story so far: in 1998, Conran finally finished six minutes of film about a retrofit world that looked at the future through the noir-ish shadows of the 1940s. It was his calling card, the first chapter of a larger film he wanted to make, one in which World War II planes battled giant tromping robots and aircraft carriers were borne aloft on propellers and staffed by sexy, eye-patch-wearing Oscar winners. His six minute short got him a producer, who got him a cast of Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, who spent a month in front of blue screens spouting lines about evil doctors and conspiracies. This is where, according to what the Sky Captain people are telling me, the magic starts happening. A team of animators took the blue screen footage of actors and placed them, digitally, in a world of Conran’s imagination, one where sepia-toned doom clomps through the streets of his imagined Manhattan and actors fly the world over in search of justice, all lit with rich, black-infused tributes to the serials of yesteryear. It gives Sky Captain a truly remarkable look that visual enthusiasts will devour time and again; it also makes for a fairly dull story in which we learn nothing of the characters and care little about their fate. The small screen — no matter how delicate the DVD transfer or how amped the home theatre sound — does little justice to this big-screen experience. Absent the "wow" factor that size brings, the film’s intimate moments (however few there are) seem thin by comparison. The DVD tries to constantly avert attention away from such weaknesses however, giving the film’s creation a full hour featurette, adding another on art (done by Conran’s production designer/brother Kevin), some lame deleted scenes and a pathetic "gag reel." The original six minute short — the one that got the studio and these Oscar-anointed stars involved in the first place — is the key extra here, and it’s pretty cool. There are two commentaries too, where you can hear more about how cool it looks, with the participants confident in the knowledge that almost no one will bring up the elephants in the room: story and character. (Paramount)
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The Martin Scorsese Collection - Dir. by Martin Scorsese
No one is going to pick up this five-film collection that spans the career of America’s greatest living director and be convinced, watching GoodFellas again, of his genius. If his consummate skill — as a film enthusiast, a storyteller, a director of actors, a constructor of images, and as a conductor of popular music — isn’t immediately obvious watching his 1990 masterwork, don’t even bother. If, however, you still get hot under the collar when reminded that Kevin Costner’s Dances With Wolves topped it at the 1990 Oscars not only for best picture, but also for writing and editing (editing!), welcome home.
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The Motorcycle Diaries - Dir. by Walter Salles
Before young Ernesto sets off on a road trip with his dear friend Alberto, he promises his mother he will write her the most beautiful letters she has ever read while travelling for months throughout Latin America. Little did she know that her son would be mailing her politically-driven manifestos, or that Ernesto would grow up to become the great Che Guevara. The Motorcycle Diaries is an absolutely stunning film, both in its storytelling and jaw-dropping landscape, as Ernesto and Alberto take a life-altering journey on a dilapidated motorbike deemed “the Mighty One.” The movie does an excellent job of making sure we are as captivated by the locals as Ernesto is, and watching the passion and intensity brew within him is remarkable.
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Barbary Coast - Dir. by Howard Hawks
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Bringing Up Baby - Dir. by Howard Hawks
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Charly - Dir. by Ralph Nelson
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Crimson Rivers: Angels of the Apocalypse - Dir. by Olivier Dahan
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Deadwood: The Complete First Season
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Degrassi Junior High: Season One
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Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut - Dir. by Richard Kelly
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Fat Albert - Dir. by Joel Zwick
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Felicity: Senior Year
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Finian’s Rainbow - Dir. by Francis Ford Coppola
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Full House: The Complete First Season
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Hoosiers: Collector's Edition - Dir. by David Anspaugh
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I Heart Huckabees - Dir. by David O. Russell
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License To Drive - Dir. by Greg Beeman
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Malcolm X - Dir. by Spike Lee
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Murder One: The Complete First Season
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Nirvana - Dir. by Gabriele Salvatores
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Orgazmo Special Edition - Dir. by Trey Parker
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Popular: The Complete Second Season
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Purple Butterfly - Dir. by Lou Ye
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Saw - Dir. by James Wan
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Shake Hands With The Devil - Dir. by Peter Raymont
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Stella Dallas - Dir. by King Vidor
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Tae Guk Gi (The Brotherhood of War) - Dir. by Kang Je-gyu
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The Assassination Of Richard Nixon - Dir. by Niels Mueller
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The Best of Mr. Ed, Vol.2
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The Best of Oblivious
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The Martin Scorsese Collection - Dir. by Martin Scorsese
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The Mole: The Complete First Season
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The Philadelphia Story - Dir. by George Cukor
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The Ring: Collector’s Set - Dir. by Gore Verbinski
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The Spongebob Squarepants Movie - Dir. by Stephen Hillenburg
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The Yes Men - Dir. by Chris Smith, Dan Ollman and Sarah Price
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Un Chien Andalou - Dir. by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí
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Woman Thou Art Loosed - Dir. by Michael Schultz
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Wonder Woman: The Complete Second Season
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Check out the hottest new releases in the country this week, including: David Bowie David Bowie: Deluxe, Fear Factory Mechanize, Hot Chip One Life Stand, Watson Twins Talking to You, Talking to Me, Yeasayer Odd Blood...
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