In Tim Burton’s take on the Walt Disney classic, Dumbo, Arcade Fire reinterprets the movies classic song “Baby Mine.” Director Burton’s live-action interpretation of the story about the flying elephant seems bound to bring tears to the eyes of hard-hearted cynics. And the song “Baby Mine” always warms the heart.
Burton’s film will also feature a version of “Baby Mine” by Norwegian singer, Aurora. For Arcade Fire’s version, the band’s Win Butler brought in several members of his family to help with the song. Check out Arcade Fire’s “Baby Mine.”
The new live-action Dumbo stars Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito and Eva Green. Edd Osmond, who has worked in Star Wars movies, did the real-life action behind the flying elephant.
The original 1941 version of “Baby Mine” for the animated movie was recorded by Betty Noyes. Check out the original movie version below.
I recently watched In Bruges (2008) for a second time to see if it still held up for me after liking the movie the first time I saw it. I enjoyed the film, written and directed by Martin McDonagh, even better the second time even though I still find it hard to categorize. Is it a black comedy? A drama? A thriller? A modern film noir? A love story? A travel adventure? Or is it, the way one character describes their visit to Bruges, a “balance between culture and fun”? Maybe it is a little bit of each.
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as two hitmen who are sent by their boss, played by Ralph Fiennes, to Bruges, Belgium to wait for his further instructions. The two travelers do not know why they are in Bruges, and they wonder whether they are there to lay low after their last job or if they are going to be given an assignment in the city. Meanwhile the two men squabble as Gleeson’s character enjoys following their instructions to appear as tourists, while Farrell is miserable in what he sees as a boring town.
The actors all give excellent performances. Farrell shows vulnerability and humor playing the young troubled character. Fiennes gives one of his scariest performances since Schindler’s List. Gleeson is excellent in a role where his character has to be completely believable for the film to work. Clémence Poésy and Jordan Prentice are excellent in important smaller roles. At the beginning, an American viewer might struggle a little to catch all the words due to the accents, but the movie is not hard to follow.
When the assignment comes, the three men must struggle with their concepts of loyalty, friendship, and honor. But these heavy ideas — and some violent scenes and profane language — are tempered by humor and the beauty of the surrounding city. I will not spoil the movie by revealing the events, but if you enjoy dark humor, buddy movies, and beautiful scenery, you may find that In Bruges is a hidden gem.
Some Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me?Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a respectable 82% critics rating and an 85% audience rating. It does not surprise me that the critics and audience ratings are similar because it is an intelligent film that should appeal to many in both categories. Jason Zingale at Bullz-Eye.Com calls In Bruges “one of the most original films in years.” But Marjorie Baumgarten at the Austin Chronicle did not like the film so much, concluding that “the film’s light comedy and dark morality make for an unsettling mix.”
{Missed Movies is our continuing series on good films you might have missed because they did not receive the recognition they deserved when released.}
What did you think of In Bruges? Leave your two cents in the comments.
There is a scene in director Len Wiseman’s new film Total Recall (2012) where we see someone who reminds us of a funny scene in the original Total Recall (1990) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. If only the rest of the remake had the sense of humor of that one scene. It says a lot about the new remake that the only time the new film made me smile was when it reminded me of the original.
The new film follows the same basic premise of the original film and both are based on a short story by Philip K. Dick (whose work also inspired Blade Runner and Minority Report). Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) works in a futuristic society and decides to go to a company named Rekall that promises to implant memories into your brain so you will believe you had a vacation or whatever fantasy you wish. Quaid asks to fulfill a fantasy of a spy adventure, and then it turns out Quaid is really a spy (or is he?) but did not know it and thus begins the adventure.
Philip K. Dick’s short story that inspired both movies — “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale” — is about the twists in the tale questioning reality. Although both film versions deviate from the short story, the 1990 film adaption did much to play with the idea of whether Quaid was really a spy or imagining the whole thing. It questioned reality while taking the viewer on an exciting adventure with some campy humor by Schwarzenegger and his co-stars. Regarding the 2012 movie, I give the new film too much credit by summarizing the plot about the identity issue, which is really just background for the real plot of the film: Kate Beckinsale does her best angry look while chasing Farrell through dim CGI special effects, occasionally catching up to him and fighting. Then it repeats again and again. You get a sense of that from the trailer.
With all the potential themes, ranging from questions about reality to colonization to invading another society, the film is not much more than a chase film. I appreciate the attempts to turn the original into a darker setting like Blade Runner, and I was intrigued by the decision to move the Mars of the original to a futuristic colony on Australia. But the movie fails to do much with the change, while wasting the talents of Colin Farell. Thus, although there are some good action scenes, one leaves the movie theater wondering what was the point of the remake.
Conclusion?: Rent the original Total Recall, which was directed by Paul Verhoeven and co-starred Sharon Stone, Rachel Ticotin, and Ronny Cox.
Other Reviews Because Why Should You Trust Me?Rotten Tomatoes currently has a 31% critics rating and a 50% audience rating for the Colin Ferrell film (compared to 85% critics/70% audience for the original). Because I am deviating from my usual practice of writing about things I like, I will just include a few positive review links: Slate‘s Dana Stevens said the remake is “a taut, serviceable sci-fi thriller with a couple of neat visual ideas.” Richard Roeper prefers the original but praises the new version’s special effects and performances of Farrell, Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel.
