Gods gone wild and a rock 'n' roll apocalypse
Immortel (ad vitam)
It is New York in the future. Mechanical and biological engineering have advanced to the point where there are flying cars, cybernetics and people who've redesigned their bodies.
But something strange is going on. A gateway of some sort has appeared in Central Park, changing the landscape around it, making it inhospitable to human life. But every now and then, something will come out of it. The city has survived, even created a police force that is skilled in dealing with strange creatures--both of unknown origin and self-made.
What they weren't ready for was the appearance of the floating pyramid and the gods that stepped out of it.
A French and Italian production that was released in 2004, Immortel features a cast of mixed live and computer generated actors. Most of the sets are virtual, much like the highly advertised (but quite disappointing) Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. While this film didn't have the big budget that Sky Captain did, some of the digital work is so smoothly integrated you're left guessing.
What this film has that Sky Captain lacked is a complex story and actors comfortable working with virtual sets. It also has some of the most interesting visual concepts I've seen on the screen in a while.
It probably helps that Enki Bilal wrote both the film and the comic books it was based on. Bilal also took to the director's chair to bring is vision to life. The story he has crafted is a love story, a social commentary, mythic (in every sense of the word) and high-grade science fantasy.
Some viewers may get a little lost in the complexity of the word--Bilal doesn't shy away from leaving some things quite unexplained--but those willing to watch with their brains engaged will be treated to an experience that will leave you wanting to know more about the world he has created and the characters that inhabit it.
Six String Samurai
The Soviets won the cold war. Their detonation of an atomic bomb and subsequent invasion have left Las Vegas the only free city in what was the United States, isolated from everything else by a post-apocalyptic no-man's land.
Rock and roll rules and Elvis has been king for decades.
But the king is dead and he's left no heir.
Guitar-slinging rock 'n' rollers from every corner of the wasteland are making their way to Vegas to see who's worthy of wearing the crown. When all is said and done, there can be only one. And he'll have to beat Death himself before he even makes it to sin city.
The production values of this film are a bit low, but the heart writer and star Jeffrey Falcon puts into it more than make up for that. Director and co-writer Lance Mungia has done some great things with what he had to work with. Yes, there's a good helping of cheese and one of the main characters is an exceptionally annoying kid that just whines most of the time, but this is one very entertaining film.
Of particular note are the fight sequences. Far from the low-impact, obviously faked fights you see in a number of lower budget films, the sword slinging and high-kicks that Falcon does show actual skill. Mungia follows the star's lead well, keeping the camera moving just right with the action (though some of his other shots tend to waver between too quick and too long), making up for the lack of dialog in the film.
The worst part is the dialog. If there were more of it, it could very well have ruined the movie. But because it's kept to a minimum--with Falcon's Buddy speaking just slightly more than Clint Eastwood's Joe (from the spaghetti westerns that put him on the movie map)--it's a minor distraction. Except in the case of Buddy's acquired sidekick, a kid who's most common way of communicating is a long, drawn-out and infinitely annoying whine/scream. Much more could have been done to make the kid's character better than an annoyance to the audience.
Don't expect anything high-brow and deep in the film and you'll enjoy it. Just like Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, it left me with a whole lot of ideas for improvements and extensions of the story and the world. If nothing else, grab a few beers and make fun of the kid.
It is New York in the future. Mechanical and biological engineering have advanced to the point where there are flying cars, cybernetics and people who've redesigned their bodies.
But something strange is going on. A gateway of some sort has appeared in Central Park, changing the landscape around it, making it inhospitable to human life. But every now and then, something will come out of it. The city has survived, even created a police force that is skilled in dealing with strange creatures--both of unknown origin and self-made.
What they weren't ready for was the appearance of the floating pyramid and the gods that stepped out of it.
A French and Italian production that was released in 2004, Immortel features a cast of mixed live and computer generated actors. Most of the sets are virtual, much like the highly advertised (but quite disappointing) Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. While this film didn't have the big budget that Sky Captain did, some of the digital work is so smoothly integrated you're left guessing.
What this film has that Sky Captain lacked is a complex story and actors comfortable working with virtual sets. It also has some of the most interesting visual concepts I've seen on the screen in a while.
It probably helps that Enki Bilal wrote both the film and the comic books it was based on. Bilal also took to the director's chair to bring is vision to life. The story he has crafted is a love story, a social commentary, mythic (in every sense of the word) and high-grade science fantasy.
Some viewers may get a little lost in the complexity of the word--Bilal doesn't shy away from leaving some things quite unexplained--but those willing to watch with their brains engaged will be treated to an experience that will leave you wanting to know more about the world he has created and the characters that inhabit it.
Six String Samurai
The Soviets won the cold war. Their detonation of an atomic bomb and subsequent invasion have left Las Vegas the only free city in what was the United States, isolated from everything else by a post-apocalyptic no-man's land.
Rock and roll rules and Elvis has been king for decades.
But the king is dead and he's left no heir.
Guitar-slinging rock 'n' rollers from every corner of the wasteland are making their way to Vegas to see who's worthy of wearing the crown. When all is said and done, there can be only one. And he'll have to beat Death himself before he even makes it to sin city.
The production values of this film are a bit low, but the heart writer and star Jeffrey Falcon puts into it more than make up for that. Director and co-writer Lance Mungia has done some great things with what he had to work with. Yes, there's a good helping of cheese and one of the main characters is an exceptionally annoying kid that just whines most of the time, but this is one very entertaining film.
Of particular note are the fight sequences. Far from the low-impact, obviously faked fights you see in a number of lower budget films, the sword slinging and high-kicks that Falcon does show actual skill. Mungia follows the star's lead well, keeping the camera moving just right with the action (though some of his other shots tend to waver between too quick and too long), making up for the lack of dialog in the film.
The worst part is the dialog. If there were more of it, it could very well have ruined the movie. But because it's kept to a minimum--with Falcon's Buddy speaking just slightly more than Clint Eastwood's Joe (from the spaghetti westerns that put him on the movie map)--it's a minor distraction. Except in the case of Buddy's acquired sidekick, a kid who's most common way of communicating is a long, drawn-out and infinitely annoying whine/scream. Much more could have been done to make the kid's character better than an annoyance to the audience.
Don't expect anything high-brow and deep in the film and you'll enjoy it. Just like Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, it left me with a whole lot of ideas for improvements and extensions of the story and the world. If nothing else, grab a few beers and make fun of the kid.