The film revolves around the mysterious death of a ranch owner after a nickel fell down onto his eye as his two adult children deal with not just what happened but also a mysterious object in the sky that is wreaking havoc on their small town near Los Angeles. It is a film that play into these two siblings who deal with what happened to their father but also disappearances around them including a few of their horses. Jordan Peele’s screenplay is largely straightforward though it opens with a quote from the Bible in Nahum 3:6 as it relates to exploitation as the first scene shown revolves around a monkey named Gordy (Terry Notary) who wreaked havoc on a soundstage during a TV show taping as it then cuts to the present where Otis Haywood Sr. (Keith David) is tending to his horse ranch as it is one of the few black-owned ranches that works with Hollywood as Haywood trains horses alongside his son Otis Jr. aka OJ (Daniel Kaluuya).
After Otis Sr.’s death, OJ is struggling to keep the family business afloat with his sister Emerald “Em” Haywood (Keke Palmer) who is more interested in selling it altogether as she is more of a free-spirit while OJ is more serious. Even as he had sold horses to a former child star/western theme-park owner Ricky “Jupe” Park (Steven Yeun) to keep his ranch afloat where the behavior of a few of their horses and their eventual disappearance prompt the siblings to buy some security tech as they get help from a tech store employee in Angel Torres (Brandon Perea) who would discover some things that both OJ and Em are suspecting. Even when Jupe would have an encounter during one of his shows that became the catalyst for OJ, Em, and Angel to take action as they sought the help of the renowned yet eccentric cinematographer Antlers Holst (Michael Wincott) who is resistant at first until he heard about an incident as he wants to capture footage of this mysterious alien object that is causing a lot of trouble.
Peele’s direction is definitely vast in terms of not just its imagery and usage of 65mm film stock for IMAX but also in creating a world that is this strange mix of the western, horror, and suspense with bits of humor. Shot on location in Agua Dulce near Los Angeles, the film does play into this air of intrigue as it has chapter breaks named after some of the horses that the Haywoods own as well as the monkey Gordy and the eventual name they give to this mysterious alien spaceship. The usage of wide and medium shots do play into the setting of the location as well as in some unique tracking shots that Peele create to help play into the sense of wonderment and horror. Notably as Peele doesn’t show the object in full at first but rather through wide shots for brief seconds as it’s more about what is happening on the ground where he would use close-ups to get a reaction from OJ and Em at different points in the film. The scenes that relate to the young Jupe and his encounter with this chimpanzee named Gordy for a TV show alludes to the film’s opening text and what happened during a film shoot where one of Haywood’s horses got agitated all because of a sound.
Even during the second act where Jupe is holding a show yet also has an exhibit about the incident which he pays tourists a lot of money to see this exhibit. His show is a key moment as it play into exactly what this UFO really is as it is far more sinister in the way it treats everyone with OJ, Em, and Angel also getting a closer look at this mysterious thing as it would arrive to drain out whatever electrical power it encounters. Its third act that involves Holst do play into the idea of how to trap this monster as it doesn’t just play into using technology and horses as bait but also to figure out what is it they’re dealing with. Its climax is grand and intense in terms of the stakes but also what a few characters would do to get a shot of this mysterious creature with the resources they have. Overall, Peele crafts an exhilarating and mesmerizing film about two ranch-owning siblings trying to uncover a mysterious creature not of planet Earth.
Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema does phenomenal work with the film’s cinematography with its emphasis on some low-key natural lighting for some of the exterior scenes at night as well as its naturalistic look for the daytime scenes while using some lights for some of the interior scenes. Editor Nicholas Monsour does excellent work with the editing as it does have some style in a few montages and some jump-cuts to play into the suspense and horror while also being straightforward to play into the reaction as well as in the long shots. Production designer Ruth de Jong, with set decorator Gene Serdena and art director Samantha Englender, does amazing work with the look of the home and ranch that the Haywoods own as well as Jupe’s own western theme park with all of its attractions. Costume designer Alex Bovaird does fantastic work with the costumes as it is largely straightforward with the exception of the cowboy costumes that Jupe and his wife wears for their show.
Makeup designer Shutchai Tym Buacharern and prosthetics designer Vincent Van Dyke do terrific work with the look of a character that is a guest of Jupe at his show who would also witness this strange phenomenon. Visual effects supervisor Guillaume Rocheron does brilliant work with some of the visual effects such as the motion-capture work of the chimpanzee Gordy as well as the look of the alien creature that is designed by John O. Dabiri as it has this unique look as well as what it looked like from the inside. Sound designer Johnnie Burn does superb work with the sound as he creates unique sound effects and some of the way music sounds and how it would slow down whenever the power goes down as it is a highlight of the film. The film’s music by Michael Abels is incredible for its rich orchestral score that has elements of bombast but also themes that play up to the suspense and horror while music supervisor Krishna Bissessar creates a soundtrack that largely feature music that is played on location including some hip-hop, pop, and R&B that include pieces from Corey Hart, Dionne Warwick, the Lost Generation, and a strange acapella rendition of The Purple People Eater by Michael Wincott.
The casting by Carmen Cuba is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Oz Perkins as a commercial director, Eddie Jemison as an assistant director, Jacob Kim as a young Jupe, Andrew Patrick Ralston and Jennifer Lafleur as a couple of young Jupe’s costars, Sophia Coto as the young Jupe’s teenage costar, Devon Graye as a TMZ reporter wearing a weird helmet who appears late in the film, Donna Mills as an actress for the commercial, the trio of Lincoln Lambert, Pierce Kang, and Roman Gross as Jupe and Amber’s kids, Barbie Ferriera as Angel’s co-worker, and Terry Notary in a terrific performance via motion-capture as the chimpanzee Gordy who goes nuts during a taping of his show. Wrenn Schmidt is fantastic as Jupe’s wife Amber who works with him for his shows as well as knowing that he’s doing what he can to make money out of his own trauma. Keith David is excellent as Otis Haywood Sr. as the father of OJ and Em who runs a horse ranch that trains horses for movies and TV shows as he is seen prominently in flashbacks as he is also the catalyst for what OJ and Em have to deal with after his sudden death.
Michael Wincott is brilliant as the renowned cinematographer Antlers Horst as an eccentric filmmaker who is reluctant to help OJ, Em, and Angel out following a commercial shoot that OJ and Em was involved in but joins in after an incident involving the alien creature where he is aware of what is at stake but also wants to capture something that no other filmmaker has done. Brandon Perea is amazing as Angel Torres as a tech worker for Fry’s Electronics who helps install cameras at the Haywood home where he makes a discovery into what has been captured as he also helps out OJ and Em in their exploits while is also a resourceful individual. Steven Yeun is incredible as Ricky “Jupe” Park as a former child star who owns and runs a western theme park, with an exhibit devoted to his trauma, as he is trying to help the Haywoods financially while he would create a show as it relates to this alien phenomenon unaware of what it wants.
Finally, there’s the duo of Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as the siblings OJ and Em Haywood. Palmer’s performance is the more exuberant of the two as a woman who harbors some resentment towards her late father for not allowing her to train her own horse as a kid where she would go into the world of hustling and such to get by while coming up with unconventional ideas to trap the alien. Kaluuya’s performance is more reserved as this man who loves tending to the family ranch while was the one who had to drive his father to the hospital during his final moments as he deals with grief but also wanting to avenge his father. Kaluuya and Palmer have unique chemistry in the way they act out as siblings as they have opposite personalities yet are strong when they work together and get shit done as it relates to this being that is not of planet Earth.
Nope is a tremendous film from Jordan Peele that features great leading performances from Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer. Along with its supporting cast, ravishing visuals, eerie sound work, a haunting music score, and its themes of exploitation. The film is definitely an unconventional yet riveting horror-suspense film that isn’t afraid to take on something big while also grounding it with a story of two siblings dealing with loss and wanting to avenge their father. In the end, Nope is a spectacular film from Jordan Peele.
Jordan Peele Films: Get Out - Us (2019 film)
© thevoid99 2022
(Played Out of Competition at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival)
Directed by Shane Black and written by Black and Anthony Bagarozzi, The Nice Guys is the story of a down-on-his-luck private detective who teams up with an enforcer to find a missing young woman in 1977 Los Angeles amidst a world of corruption and pornography. The film is an offbeat neo-noir film that explores two mismatched men who work together to try and do good as they go into a wild adventure. Starring Russell Crowe, Ryan Gosling, Angourie Rice, Margaret Qualley, Matt Bomer, Keith David, and Kim Basinger. The Nice Guys is a thrilling and exciting film from Shane Black.
The film revolves the worst private detective who reluctantly teams up with a brutish enforcer to find a missing young woman as she is connected to the death of a porn star. It’s a film with a simple premise involving mismatched men who work together to find this young woman as they venture into the world of pornography and its relation to the world of crime. The film’s screenplay by Shane Black and Anthony Bagarozzi is a mixture of noir with some offbeat humor as it play into the two protagonists who aren’t part of the police force nor do they do anything conventional which makes them a perfect team. The enforcer Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) is a guy hired to beat people up as he would meet this loser private detective in Holland March (Ryan Gosling) during an assignment where he beats him up. When Healy is attacked by two thugs who is trying to find this missing young woman in Amelia Kuttner (Margaret Qualley), he turns to March for help with March’s young daughter Holly (Angourie Rice).
It’s not just the mystery that is so interesting but it’s also the characters as Healy and March are guys who try to help people but they never reach their full potential until they work together. During the course of the film as they work together to solve this mystery, Healy and March learn more about each other as they become unlikely friends with Holly gaining a second father of sorts in Healy. When the two meet up with a high-ranking official from the Department of Justice in Judith Kuttner (Kim Basinger) who is revealed to be Amelia’s mother. The search for Amelia becomes more complex as it becomes clear someone is after her since she knows something as it doesn’t just relate to her mother’s disdain towards pornography but also something to do with the auto industry.
Black’s direction is definitely stylish as it play into the world of 1970s culture as it begins with a young boy (Ty Simpkins) sneaking under his parents bed to see a porno magazine when a car suddenly crashes into his home with the body of the same naked woman from that magazine. Shot largely in Atlanta and Decatur, Georgia with many exterior locations in Los Angeles, the film play into a world that is in disarray with a gas shortage as well as a smog pollution looming over Los Angeles. Black would use some wide shots to establish some of the locations as well as go into this world of decadence as well as it play into a period where everything is unruly but exciting. Black would use some medium shots and close-ups to focus on the characters as well as some of these offbeat moments such as Holly reading a book in a yard next to her home or these surreal moments as it relates to some of the things March sees whenever he’s drunk.
Still, it help play into the story and development of these characters as it is about these two mismatched men trying to do good in the world no matter how fucked up things are. Even as it leads to this very extravagant yet thrilling climax involving all sorts of shit where it proves that these are two guys that can get the job done. Overall, Black creates a fun and exhilarating film about two mismatched men trying to find a missing young woman.
Cinematographer Philippe Rousselot does excellent work with the film’s colorful cinematography with its usage of colorful lights for some of the scenes at night as well as some natural lighting for the scenes set in the day with the exception of the low-lit bars. Editor Joel Negron does nice work with the editing as it has some unique style in its usage of jump-cuts as well as using rhythmic cuts to play into the comedy and suspense. Production designer Richard Bridgland, with set decorator Danielle Berman and art director David Utley, does brilliant work with the look of the different houses and places the characters go to as it play into the world of the late 1970s. Costume designer Kym Barrett does fantastic work with the period costumes from the dresses and clothes the women wear as well as the suits that Healy and March wear.
Visual effects supervisor Josh Saeta does terrific work with the visual effects as it is mainly some set dressing to recreate the look of 1977 Los Angeles as well as some backdrops for some of the driving scenes at night. Sound designer James Harrison and sound editor Oliver Tarney do superb work with the sound in creating some unique sound effects as well as play into the atmospheres involving the parties and some of the violence. The film’s music by John Ottman and David Buckley is wonderful as it is a mixture of orchestral-based pieces with elements of funk and jazz to play into the feel of the 1970s while music supervisor Randall Poster creates a fun soundtrack that features music from the Bee Gees, Earth, Wind, & Fire, the Temptations, Kool & the Gang, Andrew Gold, America, A Taste of Honey, Climax Blues Band, Brick, KISS, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Al Green, and Rupert Holmes.
The casting by Sarah Finn is incredible as it feature some notable small roles from Ty Simpkins as the kid who finds the dead body of a naked porn star, Daisy Tahan as Holly’s friend Jessica, Yvonne Zima as a porn princess, Jack Kilmer as a friend of Amelia named Chet, Murielle Telio as the dead porn star Misty Mountains, Beau Knapp as a thug known as Blue Face, Yaya DeCosta as Judith Kuttner’s secretary Tally, Keith David as a thug who teams up with Blue Face, Matt Bomer as a mysterious hitman named John Boy, and Lois Smith as an old lady who claims her niece Misty is alive. Kim Basinger is excellent as Amelia’s mother Judith Kuttner as a top official for the department of justice who is eager to find her daughter as well as be very ambiguous about her war against pornography as well as dealing with a case involving the auto industry.
Margaret Qualley is brilliant as Amelia as a young woman that is trying not to be found by anyone as she knows something that could cause a lot of trouble as she is full of energy as well as naiveté thinking she could do something when it’s really more complicated. Angourie Rice is amazing as Holly March as Holland’s daughter who is a lot smarter than her father as well as be the conscious of sorts as she brings a lot of energy but also some wit as she is the real standout in the film. Finally, there’s the duo of Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Jackson Healy and Holland March. Crowe is the straight man of the two as someone that is cool with beating people up as he uses his street smart to get things done while also being very funny in a restrained manner. Gosling is definitely the funnier of the two as someone who is kind of a bumbling idiot that always screw things up despite his good intentions. Crowe and Gosling have a great sense of rapport together as they’re always fun to watch while bringing out the best in each other.
The Nice Guys is a remarkable film from Shane Black that features top-notch performances from Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. Along with a great supporting cast, nice visuals, and a fun premise, the film is definitely a neo-noir film that doesn’t take itself seriously while bringing in the things needed for an action-suspense film. In the end, The Nice Guys is an incredible film from Shane Black.
Shane Black Films: (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) - Iron Man 3 - (The Predator (2018 film))
© thevoid99 2017
Based on the short story Eight O’Clock in the Morning by Ray Nelson, They Live is the story about a nameless drifter who discovers through sunglasses that aliens are roaming around Earth controlling the social aspects of humanity as he and a friend tries to stop them. Written for the screen and directed by John Carpenter, the film is an exploration into a world where aliens had unknowingly taken over as they use subliminal messages and such to control humanity. Starring Roddy Piper, Keith David, and Meg Foster. They Live is a captivating yet witty film from John Carpenter.
Society has run rampant as the wealthy become richer while the poor become poorer as there’s no more middle ground. A nameless drifter known as Nada (Roddy Piper) arrives in Los Angeles looking for work where he notices something is going wrong as he comes across some strange sunglasses where he sees people with deformed faces and subliminal messages all over buildings and such. Realizing that these aliens have discovered their secret, Nada tries to hide as he convinces a man named Frank (Keith David) that something is going forcing the two to stop and kill these aliens before they wipe out humanity. It’s a premise that is pretty simple as John Carpenter creates a story that plays into a world where humanity is unaware that they’re being controlled. Especially as the poor either has to live on the fringes of the world or eventually conform to these expectations.
Under the Frank Armitage pseudonym as the screenwriter, Carpenter creates a story where this drifter tries to deal with these strange things he’s seeing through these sunglasses. Even as he notices early on about some strange things happening at a church across the street from where he, Frank, and other poor people were living. Nada is a just a man trying to find work and make a honest wage but he couldn’t ignore all of these strange events happening where he realizes how much of a threat he is to these aliens. Much of the first half has little dialogue as it’s all about Nada just trying to comprehend what he’s seeing as the second half has him meeting a TV programmer named Holly (Meg Foster) as he tries to convince her that something is not right.
Carpenter’s direction is quite straightforward in terms of the world he’s presenting where many of the scenes shot in color that is set in Los Angeles seems like a world where nothing is happening. Once Nada wears the sunglasses, the direction is far more mystical where it’s all presented in black-and-white where deformed faces are being shown as well as these big subliminal messages like “obey”, “marriage and reproduce”, and other things are shown in big letters. There’s even a flying saucer roaming around the city of Los Angeles to play up that element of sci-fi and suspense as Nada tries to hide from cops and other alien forces as he just kills them.
The direction also has Carpenter using some humor to comment on the situations where Nada always has something funny to say. Even as he kills the aliens with guns and whatever he can find realizing that they die like the humans. There’s also some very intense scenes that occur such as the famous fight scene between Nada and Frank where Nada tries to convince Frank to wear the sunglasses. Carpenter just lets the camera gaze and make the fighting feel as real as it could with very little cuts. It’s all about two men just getting it on and then realize that they’re the ones that will have to stop the aliens as it’s third act has Carpenter blending sci-fi, horror, and suspense into this chilling climax about what these aliens want to do. Overall, Carpenter creates a very exciting and smart film about conformity and social schism in the form of a sci-fi film with aliens.
Cinematographer Gary B. Kibbe does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the colorful look of the scenes set in Los Angeles in day and night as well as the black-and-white photography for the scenes of the characters seeing the aliens. Editors Gib Jaffe and Frank E. Jimenez do fantastic work with the editing to play into the film‘s suspense and action as well as using straight yet methodical cuts for the film‘s fight scene. Art directors William J. Durrell Jr. and Daniel A. Lomino, with set decorator Marvin March, do superb work with the set pieces from the home of Holly to the look of the posters and props appear in the locations.
The makeup work of Francisco X. Perez is amazing for the look of the aliens where they‘re seen for what they really are. Sound editor Jeffrey L. Sandler does terrific work with the sound from the use of sound effects as well as the atmosphere in the locations. The film’s music by John Carpenter and Alan Howarth is wonderful for its low-key yet brooding score with its mix of electronic music and blues to play into the element of mystery that occurs in the film.
The film’s cast is remarkable as it features some notable small roles from Sy Richardson as a revolutionary, Norman Alden as a construction foreman, Peter Jason as an underground organizer named Gilbert, and George “Buck” Foster as a drifter Nada meets at the shantytown who often complains about the TV being hacked. Meg Foster is terrific as a TV programmer named Holly that Nada meets as she is baffled by Nada’s appearances until she learns about the truth. Keith David is brilliant as Frank as a man just trying to mind his own business and work so he can get money for his family as he later deals with the aliens. Finally, there’s Roddy Piper in a marvelous performance as Nada as a wise-cracking drifter who makes the discoveries about aliens as he decides to fight them off and such while saying some funny things as it’s definitely an iconic performance from Piper.
They Live is a phenomenal film from John Carpenter that features superb performances from Roddy Piper and Keith David. It’s a very smart film that is entertaining but also with some brains where it’s not afraid to make fun of conformity and consumerism as well as bring something that is adventurous. In the end, They Live is a sensational film from John Carpenter.
John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault on Precinct 13 - Halloween - Someone’s Watching Me! - Elvis - The Fog - Escape from New York - The Thing - Christine - Starman - Big Trouble in Little China - Prince of Darkness - Memoirs of an Invisible Man - Body Bags - In the Mouth of Madness - Village of the Damned - Escape from L.A. - Vampires - Ghosts of Mars - The Ward
The Auteurs #60: John Carpenter Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2013
Based on the novel by David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas is the story about human beings being connected to one another in various places in time from the past to the future as they all deal with their role in humanity. Written for the screen and directed by Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer, the film is an epic story that bends all sorts of genres. With an all-star cast playing multiple roles that includes Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Ben Whishaw, Doona Bae, Susan Sarandon, Jim Broadbent, James D’Arcy, David Gyasi, Zhou Xun, David Gyasi, and Keith David. Cloud Atlas is a captivating yet exhilarating film from Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis.
In the 1850s, a young notary named Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess) travels to the Pacific Islands to discover a plantation run by Reverend Gilles Horrox (Hugh Grant) as it consists of slaves. Upon his return home to San Francisco, Ewing discovers a young slave named Autua (David Gyasi) who stows away on the ship as the ailing Ewing recalls his experience in a journal. In 1930s Belgium, a young musician named Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) writes many letters to his lover Rufus Sixsmith (James D’Arcy) where he works as an amanuensis for the aging composer Vyvyan Ayrs (Jim Broadbent) where they collaborate on a musical piece together. In the 1970s, a San Franciscan journalist named Luisa Rey (Halle Berry) meets the aging Sixsmith where she discovers a chilling mystery about an oil magnate Lloyd Hooks(Hugh Grant) trying to manipulate the energy crisis as a hitman named Bill Smoke (Hugo Weaving) is after her.
In 2012 London, book publisher Timothy Cavendish (Jim Broadbent) is in big trouble over mounting debts to gangsters as he turns to his older brother Denholme (Hugh Grant) for help. Instead, Denholme tricks Timothy to live in a retirement home where Timothy has to deal with the cruel nurse Noakes (Hugo Weaving) as he fights for freedom. In the futuristic South Korea, a genetically-created clone named Sonmi-451 learns about her dystopian world as she meets a young rebel named Hae-Joo Chang (Jim Sturgess) where they decide to create rebellion. In a more distant future, a tribesman named Zachry takes a technologically-advanced woman named Meronym (Halle Berry) to an old palace to find meaning in their world so they can save humanity from an evil tribe and other dark forces.
The film is essentially a multi-layered, inter-weaving collection of stories of people making decisions that would change their own fates as well as the fate of others through six different periods of time. Through the recollection of one individual’s story, one character would discover that person’s story that would inspire something of their own that would eventually inspire another and so on. In these moments where they would discover these stories or pieces of work by a certain person, it would allow a character from different stories to be motivated to do something as it would eventually give them a chance to do something that would help humanity.
The screenplay by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis is truly dazzling for the way the narrative moves from one story to another in this inter-weaving style where it adds up to the dramatic momentum of the film. Even as they would provide moments that would play up the suspense of another story and so on. It’s part of the schematics that Tykwer and the Wachowskis wanted to create while slowing things down so that characters can find ways to connect with one another to feel something as if there’s a chance to really do something great. Yet, each protagonist in these six different stories would make decisions that could impact something that would become a key moment of their lives and would set the stage for another.
The direction of Tykwer and the Wachowskis is vast in terms of the presentation they wanted to create for this massive film. With Tykwer directing the two segments in the 20th Century and the 2012 segment while the Wachowskis helm the 19th Century story and the ones set in the future. The filmmakers give each story a chance to set out on their own as they each provide broad visuals to establish the world these characters live in. Notably as these segments also have moments of intimacy to help flesh the characters out even more in their development. Since the film is really a genre-bender that features elements of sci-fi, adventure, drama, comedy, romance, and suspense. It is still about people and the adventures they go into and how they deal with these opposing forces.
For the 20th Century and 2012 segments, Tykwer pretty much keep things straightforward in terms of the presentation though he does shoot scenes with elements of style. Even as he find ways to put every actor who plays multiple roles a chance to pop up every now and then. Tykwer also utilizes bits of humor in the stories as well as some truly jaw-dropping moments such as a scene where Frobisher and Sixsmith stand and freeze while china plates drop all over them. In the 19th Century and futuristic segments, the Wachowskis go all out in terms of the ambition where they create massive sceneries for their segments. Notably the future where it is awash with visual effects to showcase a world that is unique but also unsettling.
Particularly as it establishes the sense of chaos and mistakes humans made where it plays into the most furthest futuristic segment forcing one character to do something to bring some semblance of hope. Overall, Tywker and the Wachowskis create a truly grand yet engaging film about human connection and how they impact one another in different periods of time.
Cinematographers Frank Griebe and John Toll do amazing work with the film‘s photography from the naturalistic look of 19th Century and beyond future segments to the more stylish array of lighting schemes in the 20th Century scenes and the dystopian Seoul segment. Editor Alexander Berner does excellent work with the editing to create unique rhythms for the film‘s suspenseful and action moments as well as creating montages for certain scenes as well as intricate transitions to move from one story to another. Production designers Hugh Bateup and Uli Hanisch, along with set decorator Rebecca Alleway and Peter Walpole and supervising art directors Stepan O. Gessler, Kai Koch, and Charlie Revai, do spectacular work with the set pieces from the ship in the 19th Century, the homes in the 20th and 21st Century segment, and the futuristic places in the future-Seoul segment.
Costume designers Kym Barrett and Pierre-Yves Gayraud do wonderful work with the costumes to play up the very different periods of time that occur in each segment including the more stylish clothes in the dystopian Seoul segment. Makeup and hair designers Heike Merker and Daniela Skala do great work with the hair and makeup to have every actor look a different way in the various segments and play different races and nationalities in the course of the film. Visual effects supervisors Dan Glass and Stephane Ceretti do terrific work with the film‘s visual effects for segments involving Frobisher, the dystopian Seoul segment, and the beyond future scenes. Sound designer Markus Stemler and sound editor Alexander Buck do superb work in the sound to capture the different atmosphere of each location and world the characters inhabit.
The film’s music by Tom Tykwer, Reinhold Heil, and Johnny Klimek is brilliant for its low-key, orchestral-driven score to play out the very different worlds that take place in the film along with some touching piano-driven themes in scenes involving Frobisher and Ayrs. The soundtrack also includes an array of music that plays up in two segments such as the Luisa Rey segment and the Timothy Cavendish segments.
The casting by Lora Kennedy and Lucinda Syson is incredible for the large ensemble that is created where the actors get to play multiple roles. Notable small performances include Robert Fyfe as the old seadog and Mr. Meeks, Brody Nicholas Lee as Luisa’s neighbor Javier and Zachry’s nephew, Raevan Lee Hanan as Zachry’s child Catkin, and Martin Wuttke as Cavendish’s friend Mr. Boerhavve and a healer in Zachry’s tribe. Other noteworthy small parts include terrific performances from Keith David as Horrox’s servant/a friend of Luisa’s dad/a rebel leader/a futuristic chief, Zhou Xun as Zachry’s wife/a relative of Sixsmith/Sonmi-451’s friend, David Gyasi as the stowaway slave Autua/Luisa’s father/an associate of Meronym, and James D’Arcy as Rufus Sixsmith and a man who interrogates Sonmi-451.
Jim Sturgess is superb as the young notary Adam Ewing as well as in smaller roles as a father of Sixsmith’s relative, Zachry’s brother-in-law, a highlander, and the rebellious Hae-Joo Chang. Ben Whishaw is superb as the melancholic Robert Frobisher as well as other small roles as a seaman, a record shop owner, and Denholme’s wife. Jim Broadbent is great as a sea captain, the very selfish Vyvyan Ayrs, a lab professor, a futuristic leader, a Korean musician, and as the troubled Timothy Cavendish. Susan Sarandon is wonderful as Rev. Horrox’s wife, a tribal witch, and Cavendish’s lost love. Hugh Grant is stellar as Reverend Horrox, a hotel tenant, the slimy oilman Lloyd Hooks, Timothy’s prankster brother, a perverse drug addict, and an evil tribe chief. Hugo Weaving is brilliant as Ewing’s father-in-law, a music conductor, the evil hitman Bill Smoke, a big nurse, a dystopian leader, and a demon who haunts Zachry.
Doona Bae is amazing as the clone Sonmi-451 who becomes part of a rebellion to stop a dystopian Seoul as she also plays other small roles such as Ewing’s wife and a Mexican woman who helps Luisa. Halle Berry is marvelous as the determined journalist Luisa Rey as well as notable small roles as a native woman, Ayrs’ wife, an Indian woman at a party, a Korean doctor, and a woman of the future in Meronym. Tom Hanks is remarkable as the tribe warrior Zachry who deals with demons and his tribe’s future while he also plays small roles as the devious Dr. Goose, a hotel manager, a thuggish writer, and a scientist who falls for Luisa.
Cloud Atlas is a spectacular film from Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis that explores the world of humanity and its many connections. While it’s not an easy film in terms of its ambition and big themes, it is still an engaging one for the way it explores these themes in such grand stories. It’s also a film that has something for everyone and isn’t afraid to take big risks while featuring an amazing collective of actors. In the end, Cloud Atlas is an extraordinary film from Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis.
The Wachowskis Films: (Bound) - (The Matrix) - (The Matrix Reloaded) - (The Matrix Revolution) - Speed Racer
Tom Tykwer Films: (Deadly Maria) - (Winter Sleepers) - Run Lola Run - (The Princess and the Warrior) - (Heaven (2002 film)) - True (2004 short) - (Perfume: The Story of a Murderer) - (The International) - (Three (2010 film))
© thevoid99 2012
Based on the novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell Jr., The Thing is the story about a group of mysterious life form that infiltrates an Antarctic research station where a group of men to defend themselves from the creature who can imitate these men as paranoia ensues. Directed by John Carpenter and screenplay by Bill Lancaster, the film explores the world of men trying to deal with something they don’t know as they eventually start to distrust each other. Starring Kurt Russell, Wilford Brimley, Keith David, T.K. Carter, Donald Moffat, and Charles Hallahan. The Thing is a chilling yet harrowing film from John Carpenter.
A group of American Antarctic researchers witness a Norwegian helicopter team trying to kill a dog as it later shoots at them only to kill the shooter and save the dog. Suspicion arises as a helicopter pilot named R.J. McCready (Kurt Russell) and Dr. Copper (Richard Dysart) go to the Norwegian camp where they find the place in ruins as well as a strange body. Upon bringing the body and video documentation at the camp, something strange happens where an autopsy is made where a man named Blair (Wilford Brimley) makes a discovery about this strange thing as it starts to imitate various life forms and kill those around the area as many struggle to survive against this strange alien being. Yet, distrust and paranoia starts to play in as the residents in the camp try to figure out what to do just as their numbers start to dwindle.
The film is essentially a story of survival and paranoia that revolves around a team of American Antarctic researchers trying to kill a strange alien who can imitate all sorts of life forms including themselves. During the course of the film, these men realize that the monsters can turn into humans and is willing to kill at any length leaving to all sorts of mistrust among many. Leading the pack is a helicopter pilot who is trying to maintain his cool and get everyone in tact where everyone becomes afraid or starts to act erratic leading to them being suspicious around one another.
Bill Lancaster’s screenplay definitely plays to a lot of the schematics of horror in which characters get picked off one-by-one and whoever are left are all trying to deal with the monster. The script does manage to invest a lot of time with the characters as they’re all just normal guys who do their job and such as they try to live their life in the extremely cold Antarctic. There’s not much plot in the story but it doesn’t need one since it’s just simply about a group of men fighting a monster and eventually themselves just as distrust starts to arrive. Even as they all realize that if they need to survive, they have to trust one another through some strange tests and such where there’s also the feeling that they might not make it all.
John Carpenter’s direction is very engaging for the way he builds up suspense and horror as he knows how to maintain a sense of rhythm into creating that sense of momentum in the suspense and horror. From the film’s opening scene that is this amazing wide shot of a helicopter trying to follow a dog through these snowy rocky mountains. It is clear that Carpenter is establishing something that would play a key part in the story with this opening sequence for what these men are to face. Through these vast locations set around British Columbia, Canada and parts of Alaska, Carpenter creates a world where nature is unforgiving in the cold world of the Antarctic. It’s not just this dark creature and themselves that they’re facing but also nature itself.
Carpenter’s direction also has a sense of foreboding intimacy in his framing where it’s clear that everyone is trapped in the rooms they’re in as Carpenter shoots the actors in various group shots and cuts to another small group to see who is the monster and who is not. It’s all part of the world of paranoia that Carpenter is trying to set-up that adds to the suspense where the third act revolves the small group of survivors trying to fight the monster any way they can. Overall, Carpenter creates a truly captivating yet mesmerizing horror film that plays to a lot of its schematics and more.
Cinematographer Dean Cundey does great work with the film‘s exhilarating photography to capture the beauty of the landscapes along with the sense of dread in the film‘s nighttime interior and exterior scenes where the lighting creates an unsettling mood. Editor Todd C. Ramsay does excellent work with the editing to play up the suspense and horror while utilizing dissolves and fade-outs for the film‘s transitions. Production designer John J. Lloyd, along with set decorator John W. Dwyer and art director Henry Larrecq, does amazing work with the set pieces such as the base the characters live in to the ruined Norwegian base and spaceship that is found nearby.
Special creature effects designer Rob Bottin, along with Stan Winston, does brilliant work with the look of the monster as it imitates itself in various forms that also features an element of repulsiveness in its look as it plays a large key to the film‘s horror element. Sound editors Colin C. Mouat and David Lewis Yewdall do superb work with the sound to play up the sense of atmosphere that occurs as it also plays a key part in the film‘s suspense and horror. The film’s music by Ennio Morricone is fantastic for its intense, orchestral-driven score that adds to the film’s drama and suspense as Morricone’s score is a major highlight along with the film’s opening theme by John Carpenter that is this chilling, electronic-driven piece that adds to the film’s darkness.
The casting by Anita Dann is terrific for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Norbert Weisser and Larry J. Franco as the Norwegian men in a helicopter as well as Adrienne Barbeau as the computer chess game that McCready is playing against. Other noteworthy small roles include Thomas G. Waites as the radio operator Windows, T.K. Carter as the cook Nauls, Richard Masur as the kennel operator Clark, Joel Polis as the scientist Fuchs, Richard Dysart as the doctor Copper, Peter Maloney and Charles Hallahan as the researchers Bennings and Norris, David Clennon as the scientist Palmer, and Donald Moffat as the base head Garry. Wilford Brimley is great as the scientist Blair who makes a discovery about the autopsy and his powers as he immediately starts to act erratic. Keith David is superb as the researcher Childs who rallies around everyone while often challenging McCready in the game of distrust. Finally, there’s Kurt Russell in an incredible performance as McCready who leads the team in fighting everyone while is willing to do anything to prove that he’s not the monster as it’s Russell bringing a lot of guts and charisma to his performances.
The Thing is an outstanding horror film from John Carpenter that features an intense performance from Kurt Russell. The film is definitely a horror film that doesn’t try to create any scares by focusing on characters and heavy themes that adds to the element of suspense and horror. Even as it explores the world of paranoia and survival in an unforgiving landscape that adds to the sense of terror in the film. In the end, The Thing is a hypnotic yet engrossing film from John Carpenter.
John Carpenter Films: Dark Star - Assault on Precinct 13 - Halloween - Someone’s Watching Me! - Elvis - The Fog - Escape from New York - Christine - Starman - Big Trouble in Little China - Prince of Darkness - They Live - Memoirs of an Invisible Man - Body Bags - In the Mouth of Madness - Village of the Damned - Escape from L.A. - Vampires - Ghosts of Mars - The Ward
The Auteurs #60: John Carpenter Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2012
