Film Oddities
Oct. 24th, 2010 10:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearMy latest pair of movies from LoveFilm proved rather odd - one in a good way, and one not so good.
if I had realised that Fantastic Mr Fox was not only based on a Roald Dahl book but also directed by Wes Anderson, I probably wouldn't have put it on my list as I have never enjoyed the work of either. It was indeed a rather strange film in quite an offputting way and I'm not sure I would have made it through the whole thing if I hadn't been parcelling up BookMooch books to send out at the same time. My parcelling lasted the whole length of the film, which proved not entirely unsuited to providing background distraction. Ridiculous as it may seem, it was the lack of internal consistency that bothered me most. There were animals wandering around on their hind legs in tweed suits, pursuing jobs as lawyers and estate agents, but there were also farmers whose chickens were at risk from the same animals - and, most inconsistent of all, the chickens themselves, along with the guard dogs used to protect them, had neither clothes nor powers of speech. A very odd mix, which didn't work for me at all.
However, if I thought Fantastic Mr Fox odd, it was nothing compared to Dean Spanley, which was possibly one of the most bizarre films I have ever seen, but in the best possible way. Watching Bryan Brown, Jeremy Northam and Peter O'Toole hang on the every word of Sam Neill as the latter recalled escapades in his previous life as a dog was both weird and wonderful. I'm certain other actors could not have pulled it off, but these did and each in such delightfully different ways, which fitted their respective characters to a tee. The conceit went just a step too far in the suggested background of Bryan Brown's character, but the rest of it worked perfectly, providing both humour and pathos in equal measure and creating a highly entertaining story while at the same time making me wonder if I was really watching what appeared to be unfolding. Very, very strange, but most enjoyable all the same.
if I had realised that Fantastic Mr Fox was not only based on a Roald Dahl book but also directed by Wes Anderson, I probably wouldn't have put it on my list as I have never enjoyed the work of either. It was indeed a rather strange film in quite an offputting way and I'm not sure I would have made it through the whole thing if I hadn't been parcelling up BookMooch books to send out at the same time. My parcelling lasted the whole length of the film, which proved not entirely unsuited to providing background distraction. Ridiculous as it may seem, it was the lack of internal consistency that bothered me most. There were animals wandering around on their hind legs in tweed suits, pursuing jobs as lawyers and estate agents, but there were also farmers whose chickens were at risk from the same animals - and, most inconsistent of all, the chickens themselves, along with the guard dogs used to protect them, had neither clothes nor powers of speech. A very odd mix, which didn't work for me at all.
However, if I thought Fantastic Mr Fox odd, it was nothing compared to Dean Spanley, which was possibly one of the most bizarre films I have ever seen, but in the best possible way. Watching Bryan Brown, Jeremy Northam and Peter O'Toole hang on the every word of Sam Neill as the latter recalled escapades in his previous life as a dog was both weird and wonderful. I'm certain other actors could not have pulled it off, but these did and each in such delightfully different ways, which fitted their respective characters to a tee. The conceit went just a step too far in the suggested background of Bryan Brown's character, but the rest of it worked perfectly, providing both humour and pathos in equal measure and creating a highly entertaining story while at the same time making me wonder if I was really watching what appeared to be unfolding. Very, very strange, but most enjoyable all the same.
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Date: 2010-10-25 09:35 pm (UTC)