Whatever happened to John Landis? The director of The Blues Brothers and comedy/horror classic An American Werewolf in London has disappeared off the theatrical release radar since the horrendous PG-13 Blues Brothers 2000 back in 1998. Well the 60 year old is still alive and kicking, which is more than can be said for much of the cast of his latest effort.
The film follows the story of real-life Irish born graverobbers and murderers William Burke and William Hare, who profited from a lack of corpses for medical study in 19th Century Edinburgh by killing people so they could sell the bodies to a local medical college. It’s a macabre and honestly horrifying story of just how mercenary people can be in order to make money and the depths they are willing to sink to – the accomplices even started to bump off their own family before the end. Perfect fodder for a comedy so.
In movie land, the villains are played by Simon Pegg (Burke) and Andy Serkis (Hare) so you already know from the start that they are going to be likeable rogues. The film goes out of its way to paint them as human beings, layering on Hare’s browbeating wife (Jessica Hynes) and a love interest for Pegg in the form of the delectable Isla Fisher while pointedly ignoring the genuinely horrific nature of their crimes.
There was room here for a truly black comedy with lashings of over the top gore (courtesy of the many dissections) but the film keeps things far too light, trying to make us feel sorry for the characters – particularly Burke. Sadly, the dramatic attempts are flawed and the laughs few and far between, more often courtesy of the nearly endless cameos from the likes of Ronnie Corbet and Stephen Merchant. Thriller was scarier. Funnier too.
1.11.10
PREVIEW - Tron: Legacy
Last night, Disney hosted a special screening of 23 minutes of footage from their upcoming 3D blockbuster Tron: Legacy in Dublin. We went along to check out the movie that will be hoping to recreate the massive success of last year’s Avatar when it hits theatres in December.
Tron: Legacy is the sequel to the 1982 original, focussed on Sam Flynn (Garret Hedlund), the son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) – the hero of the first film. 20 years ago, Flynn kissed his son goodnight and vanished without a trace. Now in his mid 20’s, Sam suddenly gets word that his father may still be alive and returns to the old, boarded up arcade and into a world he never dreamed possible.
The footage began with a message from director Joseph Kosinski, letting the audience know that the scenes are relatively spoiler free and that the sound mix wasn’t complete – while also assuring us that even though the opening moments are in 2D, it’s recommended you watch them through the 3D glasses for the best effect.
The first scene was set in the real world, as Alan Bradley (a returning Bruce Boxleitner) tells the young Flynn off for a stunt he pulled which landed him in jail, and not for the first time. He tells Sam that he received a page from Kevin Flynn’s old office, from a number that’s been out of service for decades. Sam makes his way to the arcade, vintage machines wreathed in dust coats which come alive at the touch of a circuit breaker. Behind the original Tron console lies a hidden office and extremely fancy (for 1989) touch screen computer complete with menacing laser pointed directly at Young Flynn’s head...
Suddenly, we’re on The Grid and the image comes alive. Dark colours are accented by the startling neon detailing of a towering Recogniser, which scoops Flynn up and transports him along with a group of programs to the city. He is selected for the games, with one program choosing to kill himself rather than participate – our first glimpse of the movie’s new, particulate and body shattering de-rezzing effect.
Flynn is undressed and suited up for battle by a team of Sirens led by Beau Garret who has only one word of advice – survive. Then we get the first glimpse of a disk battle, with multiple fights taking place at once in isolated pods. Flynn faces off against a character he recognises from the Tron toys his father gave him (you can catch a peek of one in the second theatrical trailer, see below) but fumbles with his own disk when he’s suddenly attacked. The game becomes even more deadly they he realises that the walls and floor are fragile and a fall means instant death.
Next, we get a brief glimpse of the light cycles as Flynn speeds along in a two man bike, a mysterious helmeted figure at his side. They destroy a wall and go off grid, somewhere their enemies cannot follow, and his companion reveals herself as Quorra – played by a buoyant Olive Wilde. The final scene occurred far from The Grid in an isolated safehouse, where Sam gets reunited with his long lost father and the elder Flynn gazes out across the world, wondering what will happen next.
The preview ended with a sizzle reel, starting with a cameo from Daft Punk as master of ceremonies Michael Sheen asks them to ‘change the mood’ before the music and images launched into overdrive. As neon fireworks explode in time to the music we got tiny glimpses of light jets dogfighting, light cycle battles in a massive arena and Jeff Bridges’ CG-enhanced alter-ego CLU sitting atop his throne.
The Tron: Legacy preview was certainly impressive but if you are choosing select scenes to demo your blockbuster you’re hardly going to create something underwhelming. The most surprising thing about what was shown is that it managed to avoid any overtly spectacular scenes, with almost half of that was shown either taking place in the real world or focussing more on drama than action. It’s clear that Disney isn’t just out to wow us with CG and 3D hi-jinks, instead they are keen to showcase the quality of the entire production. It’s a brave move but one which seems to have worked, there’s a real sense that they might have something special on their hands rather than just another SFX-filled show.
The effects are stunning though, CG and real sets/costumes blending perfectly. This is no doubt helped by the high contrast nature of the world and the generally plastic nature of the surfaces, an effect which CG can handle much easier than the textures of reality. Speaking of textures, the filmmakers have chosen to add a very specific effect to the scenes taking place inside the computer world, a thickness to the air reminiscent of the lines and whorls of an LCD screen. It’s subtle, like the green tinge of The Matrix world, but it makes the image remarkably distinct, and really helps give a sense of depth to the proceedings, which is essential for a compelling 3D experience.
The 3D is also mostly subtle, few moments extending beyond the screen. Colours pop brilliantly, aided by an extremely dark shooting style which looks a million miles away from regular Disney films. If anything, the images might be a little too dark but again that lends the film a unique look which will help it stand out from competitors. The tone might be a bit more problematic – everything seems starkly serious apart from Quorra’s oddly chirpy attitude, as a warrior character I was expecting a much more muted and brooding performance from Wilde.
Lead Hedlund (who played Brad Pitt’s cousin in Troy) looks well in the suit and has a hint of a younger Bridges in his voice but it remains to be seen if he can carry a film. It’s great to see Bridges reprising the role and working on the performance capture for CLU is a massive technological feat – even if it still looks incredibly creepy at times, the framerate of CG simply can’t match the smoothness of a real human being. Perhaps they can explain that away within the world of the film.
Leaving the best til last – the visuals and the music are simply amazing. As a massive Recogniser heads out across the digital landscape, Daft Punks synth score reverberates around in a cacophony of musical bits and bytes. It’s the perfect marriage of artist and movie and the design work takes the template created for Tron back in 1982 and runs with it – imagining a world which has been allowed to grow and change exponentially over millions of cycles to create something truly out of this world.
The world of Tron was always ripe to be revisited, particularly in light of advancements in technology and the public understanding of the digital realm. With this self assured early preview and almost two months left for tinkering and polishing the effects, Legacy could well be the game we’ve all been waiting for.
Welcome to the Grid.
Tron: Legacy is the sequel to the 1982 original, focussed on Sam Flynn (Garret Hedlund), the son of Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) – the hero of the first film. 20 years ago, Flynn kissed his son goodnight and vanished without a trace. Now in his mid 20’s, Sam suddenly gets word that his father may still be alive and returns to the old, boarded up arcade and into a world he never dreamed possible.
The footage began with a message from director Joseph Kosinski, letting the audience know that the scenes are relatively spoiler free and that the sound mix wasn’t complete – while also assuring us that even though the opening moments are in 2D, it’s recommended you watch them through the 3D glasses for the best effect.
The first scene was set in the real world, as Alan Bradley (a returning Bruce Boxleitner) tells the young Flynn off for a stunt he pulled which landed him in jail, and not for the first time. He tells Sam that he received a page from Kevin Flynn’s old office, from a number that’s been out of service for decades. Sam makes his way to the arcade, vintage machines wreathed in dust coats which come alive at the touch of a circuit breaker. Behind the original Tron console lies a hidden office and extremely fancy (for 1989) touch screen computer complete with menacing laser pointed directly at Young Flynn’s head...
Suddenly, we’re on The Grid and the image comes alive. Dark colours are accented by the startling neon detailing of a towering Recogniser, which scoops Flynn up and transports him along with a group of programs to the city. He is selected for the games, with one program choosing to kill himself rather than participate – our first glimpse of the movie’s new, particulate and body shattering de-rezzing effect.
Flynn is undressed and suited up for battle by a team of Sirens led by Beau Garret who has only one word of advice – survive. Then we get the first glimpse of a disk battle, with multiple fights taking place at once in isolated pods. Flynn faces off against a character he recognises from the Tron toys his father gave him (you can catch a peek of one in the second theatrical trailer, see below) but fumbles with his own disk when he’s suddenly attacked. The game becomes even more deadly they he realises that the walls and floor are fragile and a fall means instant death.
Next, we get a brief glimpse of the light cycles as Flynn speeds along in a two man bike, a mysterious helmeted figure at his side. They destroy a wall and go off grid, somewhere their enemies cannot follow, and his companion reveals herself as Quorra – played by a buoyant Olive Wilde. The final scene occurred far from The Grid in an isolated safehouse, where Sam gets reunited with his long lost father and the elder Flynn gazes out across the world, wondering what will happen next.
The preview ended with a sizzle reel, starting with a cameo from Daft Punk as master of ceremonies Michael Sheen asks them to ‘change the mood’ before the music and images launched into overdrive. As neon fireworks explode in time to the music we got tiny glimpses of light jets dogfighting, light cycle battles in a massive arena and Jeff Bridges’ CG-enhanced alter-ego CLU sitting atop his throne.
The Tron: Legacy preview was certainly impressive but if you are choosing select scenes to demo your blockbuster you’re hardly going to create something underwhelming. The most surprising thing about what was shown is that it managed to avoid any overtly spectacular scenes, with almost half of that was shown either taking place in the real world or focussing more on drama than action. It’s clear that Disney isn’t just out to wow us with CG and 3D hi-jinks, instead they are keen to showcase the quality of the entire production. It’s a brave move but one which seems to have worked, there’s a real sense that they might have something special on their hands rather than just another SFX-filled show.
The effects are stunning though, CG and real sets/costumes blending perfectly. This is no doubt helped by the high contrast nature of the world and the generally plastic nature of the surfaces, an effect which CG can handle much easier than the textures of reality. Speaking of textures, the filmmakers have chosen to add a very specific effect to the scenes taking place inside the computer world, a thickness to the air reminiscent of the lines and whorls of an LCD screen. It’s subtle, like the green tinge of The Matrix world, but it makes the image remarkably distinct, and really helps give a sense of depth to the proceedings, which is essential for a compelling 3D experience.
The 3D is also mostly subtle, few moments extending beyond the screen. Colours pop brilliantly, aided by an extremely dark shooting style which looks a million miles away from regular Disney films. If anything, the images might be a little too dark but again that lends the film a unique look which will help it stand out from competitors. The tone might be a bit more problematic – everything seems starkly serious apart from Quorra’s oddly chirpy attitude, as a warrior character I was expecting a much more muted and brooding performance from Wilde.
Lead Hedlund (who played Brad Pitt’s cousin in Troy) looks well in the suit and has a hint of a younger Bridges in his voice but it remains to be seen if he can carry a film. It’s great to see Bridges reprising the role and working on the performance capture for CLU is a massive technological feat – even if it still looks incredibly creepy at times, the framerate of CG simply can’t match the smoothness of a real human being. Perhaps they can explain that away within the world of the film.
Leaving the best til last – the visuals and the music are simply amazing. As a massive Recogniser heads out across the digital landscape, Daft Punks synth score reverberates around in a cacophony of musical bits and bytes. It’s the perfect marriage of artist and movie and the design work takes the template created for Tron back in 1982 and runs with it – imagining a world which has been allowed to grow and change exponentially over millions of cycles to create something truly out of this world.
The world of Tron was always ripe to be revisited, particularly in light of advancements in technology and the public understanding of the digital realm. With this self assured early preview and almost two months left for tinkering and polishing the effects, Legacy could well be the game we’ve all been waiting for.
Welcome to the Grid.
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