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| Syd |
 Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 11:58 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12940
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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Deep Blue is a film by the people who did the BBC series The Blue Planet, which I've never seen, damn it. The movie was made for IMAX theatres, although I think there was also a release for regular theatres.
This is an incredibly beautiful film comparable to Winged Migration and Microcosmos, and has less structure than either of them, which didn't have all that much structure themselves. If there is a point, it's that we really don't know that much about the ocean and we will lose a lot of its wonders without ever getting a chance to see it. The message is really only made explicit at the end and seems a bit tacked on. Another point is that the ocean affords a greater variety of lifestyles than the land. (If I'm not mistaken, the biomass on land is actually greater, but a lot of it is tied up in trees and other vascular plants, so there's less variety.
The film is more violent that I was expecting. It shows killer whales attacking baby seals who are foolhardy enough to wade into the shallows during high tide, and a pack of killer whales separating a baby gray whale from its mother, then killing the baby. We see packs of reef sharks prowling the coral reefs in search of fishes who haven't found a good hiding place. A couple of times we see underwater tornados of sardines under attack from dolphins and diving albatrosses. I never knew albatrosses dove, or that sardines organized themselves in tight groups like that. The scene where the dolphins arrive (the flock of albatrosses above the school of sardines signals to them that it's dinner time).
At night we get to see the beauty of ctenophores, especially comb jellies, with flashes of light passing up their combs of clilia, and jellyfish pulsing along. There are creatures I've never seen the like of, including one creature that looks like a long skeleton shaped like a sea scorpion. I think it may be a polychaete worm, but I don't know for shore.
Unlike Winged Migration and Microcosmos, there is narration (by Pierce Brosnan, who sounds a bit Thorazined), but it's not intrusive, and there are long stretches where the filmmakers just let the images speak for themselves. The only presences of man are the submarines we see during the descent into the abyss. [They cheat a little bit here, in that some of the monstrous creatures in the abyss are really no more than a few inches long. The angler fish, which seems huge, catches a shrimp that's as long as the fish. ]
Like Winged Migration and Microcosmos, there are scenes where you stop for a minute trying to figure out how the hell they got a particular piece of footage. For instance, you get to see beluga whales using a breathing hole. then the image switches below the ice, and you see them going up to the breathing hole. I don't know if they used a submarine, or a remotely controlled camera.
There are about five minutes of penguin footage, much of it underwater, so you get to see the penguins in the environment they are designed for. You get to see the emperor penguins marching to the nesting site. (The film makers don't show them dropping to their bellies and paddling across the ice, as in March of the Penguins, so you get the impression the penguins waddle all the way.) The underwater sequences here are the more effective. However, the march does give them an excuse to put a pair of penguins on the cover of the DVD and maybe get some of the audience of March of the Penguins.
Deep Blue should probably be seen on as big a screen as possible, although it's quite effective on my television. On IMAX it must be an overwhelming experience. |
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| jeremy |
| Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 12:10 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 6794
Location: Derby, England and Hamilton, New Zealand (yes they are about 12,000 miles apart)
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I saw the series on the BBC. It was narrated by David Attenborough (Dickie's naturalist brother) and had much more informative content. The film tends to let the images speak for themselves.
The scene, I remeber most from the serie is where a huge shoal of small fish is decimated by a progression of predators - tuna, a whale, sharks, sailfish and birds until it seems not one remains. |
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| Syd |
| Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 12:20 pm |
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Site Admin
Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 12940
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
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| David Attenborough's naturalist series are some of the best television I've ever seen. He didn't write The Blue Planet but I'm not surprised he's associated with it. |
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Rocky Laocoon foretold of Troy's doom, only to find snaky water. They pulled him in and Rocky can't swim. Now Rocky wishes he were an otter! |
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| mo_flixx |
| Posted: Thu May 25, 2006 6:26 pm |
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Joined: 30 May 2004
Posts: 12533
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DUMA is out on DVD. This is a great film for kids and adults alike.
A widow in S. Africa has to move to the city with her young son after the death of her husband. The family has had the most wonderful cheetah as a pet - raised from infancy.
The boy just doesn't have the heart to part with his cheetah. When the cheetah escapes, the boy follows him. It's the story of their adventures in the wilds of S. Africa.
Beautiful photography. An amazing, noble animal. I've bought the DVD for my young nephew. Hope he likes it.
There is also a lovely book out (the true story) which differs quite a bit from the movie script. |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 12:35 am |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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Here we go again. Loved, loved, loved The Family Stone. And loved Match Point, although I wish I had not seen the reference to Crimes and Misdemeanors on the board. Oh well.
My new crush is Luke Wilson. Come to think of it though, He was my crush when I saw My Dog Skip. The gag reel on this DVD is worth the price of the rental ... even if you've already seen it.
The New World. I found myself curiously detached from this film. I think this may have happened after the first hour, or because I was trying to watch it too late at night.
One way or the other I think viewers will find it transcendently beautiful or totally pretentious. I haven't made up my mind. I really need to see it again when I'm more awake. |
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| Joe Vitus |
| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 6:00 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 14498
Location: Houston
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I keep forgetting to check out Match Point, though several people, including Billy and now you, have given it strong reviews. Why do I keep forgeting? I think because my best friend, and a Woody Allen fanatic, found it as over-rated and not-career-redeaming as everything else Allen's done since the mid-90's (yes, I'm sure if he were asked directly, he'd put it on a higher level than Deconstructing Harry). Allen's gone so far downhill that I can't muster interest in his work anymore (the recent stuff; I'm as avid a fan of his first 15 years of moviemaking as I ever was).
Hopefully that means when I finally see Match Point, my expectations will be so low I end up enjoying it quite a bit. But Allen writing a movie set in London is about as appealing as Pinter writing one set in the Bronx.
Wait, that's not a fair comparison. Pinter writing in any setting is unappealing to me. |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 6:59 am |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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| Marj--So glad you loved The Family Stone, which was quite underrated (though not panned) at the time of its release. It's one of the best family comedy-dramas I've ever seen, and a true Christmas classic if you take it as a holiday movie. And I agree with you about Luke Wilson, who I've always preferred to the more popular Owen and who in The Family Stone delivered his best performance yet and one which should have been Oscar-nominated. |
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| bart |
| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 12:29 pm |
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Joined: 05 Dec 2005
Posts: 2381
Location: Lincoln NE
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"And I agree with you about Luke Wilson, who I've always preferred to the more popular Owen...."
I share your estimation of Luke Wilson. However, "Bottle Rocket" remains a film in which I can not establish a preference for one Wilson brother over another. |
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| Trish |
| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 12:37 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2438
Location: Massachusetts
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| sorry - I really detested The Family Stone - there was just one moment that worked pretty well (IMHO) near the end a scene between McAdams and Keaton that did pack an emotional punch (albeit brief) - otherwise shmaltz shmaltz shmaltz |
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| chillywilly |
| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 12:41 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 8251
Location: Salt Lake City
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I'm with Joe... I really need to add Match Point to my list next time I go renting.
Luke Wilson.... his tag line could be "I'm the one with the good nose" |
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Chilly
"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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| Marj |
| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 1:53 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 10497
Location: Manhattan
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The Family Stone is Shmaltz. But it handles the shmaltz very well. Personally I wasn't prepared for the fact it was going to be a tear jerker. Still it was one of the funniest tear jerkers, I've ever seen. Combining the two, can't be easy but this was done beautifully. And much of the credit has to go to the high caliber of acting. This was ensemble acting at its best.
Billy -- I forgot to mention that TFS may indeed be a new Cristmas classic. IMO, it certainly has all the ear marks of one. Let's hope! |
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| ehle64 |
| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 2:43 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 7149
Location: NYC; US&A
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I know that most of the people that post here didn't like Home For The Holidays, but after we watched The Family Stone, we both thought they'd make a great Holiday Season Double Feature.
Just the power of the Matriarchy alone with Anne Bancroft and Diane Keaton seals it for me. Then afterwards if we want a third film, we could pop in Autumn Sonata for a little Mommie Dearest, Bergman style. |
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| chillywilly |
| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 3:53 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 8251
Location: Salt Lake City
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ehle64 wrote: I know that most of the people that post here didn't like Home For The Holidays,
I liked it. Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr. were great. It's such a cool movie... a lot of fun. |
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Chilly
"If you should die before me / Ask if you could bring a friend" |
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| billyweeds |
| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 4:05 pm |
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Joined: 20 May 2004
Posts: 20618
Location: New York City
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I think Home for the Holidays has a lot of fans as well as detractors like moi. IMO it's the go-to flick if you want to see just how obnoxious Robert Downey can get.
(I happen to adore Downey in Less Than Zero, in which a lot of folks think he sucks. Go figure.) |
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| Mr. Brownstone |
| Posted: Fri May 26, 2006 4:24 pm |
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Joined: 21 May 2004
Posts: 2450
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Downey's brilliant in Less Than Zero.
It's an especially astonishingly cautionless performance considering how young he was during filming. He was only like, 21-23 at the time.
For an actor that young to offer up a performance that daring yet crafted, is remarkably impressive.
Mel Gibson once said he would love to direct a Hamlet, but only if Robert Downey, Jr. would play the Dane. Time's running out on that project, but that speaks pretty highly of Downey, who couldn't have been 30 when Gibson made the remarks. |
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