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Sucker Punch: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 01:30:57 +0000

This week director Zack Snyder’s bad-ass, chick-action-flick, Sucker Punch hits theaters with a bang. Snyder described the film as “Alice In Wonderland with machine guns” and there definitely is an aspect of that to the film. This is a dark, imaginative film that journey’s into the mind a young girl who needs to escape — but unlike Alice, Babyboll has a lot bigger threats than just growing up, she has to escape a mental institution before it’s too late. Sadly the film itself doesn’t follow through in terms of story, but it does manage some pretty impressive ideas. Check out our review below…

The Players:

Director: Zack Snyder
Writers: Zack Snyder (story and screenplay) and Steve Shibuya (screenplay)
Actors: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Vanessa Hudgens, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, Oscar Isaac, Jon Hamm, Scott Glenn
Original Music by: Tyler Bates and Marius De Vries
Cinematography by: Larry Fong

The Plot:

A young girl gets caught accidentally commiting some crimes and is institutionalized by her wicked stepfather. In order to escape her fate, she retreats into her imagination and envisions a plan which will help her and her new found companions escape.

The Good:

The Look: From the flawless skin on all the girls, to the costumes, to the sets and the special effects; this film has a very distinctive look and it’s impressive. One has come to expect this from Snyder and he doesn’t disappoint on visual — though some may not like his videogame-esq special effects, there’s plenty to feast your eyes on.
All Out: I always prefer a film that takes risks and this film does. It’s great to see a director take an original idea and follow it through 100%. There’s no doubt that Snyder did that here. There is an attempt at a lot of interesting concepts in this film and there are some beautiful moments that really show you how talented Snyder is. Sadly, the whole film doesn’t hold up and that’s mainly do to the story BUT it’s hard not to appreciate and respect the effort.
The Opening: When the film hit the screen it immediately sent a wave over the audience and I couldn’t help but think “this is going to be awesome!” The start of this film, the idea, the premise, how it sets himself up is beautiful, dark, interesting — this is one of the best starts to a film. Sadly, before we can even finish the first act, things begin to fade.

The Bad:

The Story: Snyder takes a lot of risks in this film and unfortunately they don’t always add up or mean anything. You’re given this great premise and a lot of metaphorical ideas that at first seem really fascinating; but then you realize that they’re not all adding up, that things aren’t really making sense, then slowly the story starts to fall apart and you’re felt with some pretty images, and that’s about all.
The Repetitiveness: The film begins with one awesome trick and then repeats it 5 BIG times. Now this isn’t always a problem, films can repeat themselves if they’re clever about it. Sadly, unlike it’s competitor Source Code, which actually repeats itself eight times, this film doesn’t find the differences that keep you engaged while watching the same thing over and over. You need variation, in the characters, their motivation, and in tone in order to keep the story moving and give us something new to watch. The characters never really changed, only the settings. As a result it kept using the same gag just with a slightly different enemy to fight each time. It felt like five of the same short films playing back to back — mix it up!
Unbelievable Responses: The characters don’t respond like they’re human. Even under the most insane circumstances if there is not something relatable or tangible for us to hold onto, it’s hard to stay invested in the character story. The actors did their best to justify it, but even the greatest actors can’t solve plot holes that big. (Also unbelievable were the eye-lashes — I get the long lashes and excessive make-up in the brothel, but why everywhere else? This is like America’s Next Top Insane Asylum)
Casting Hamm: Though one can not get enough Hamm, he was probably the worst person in the world to cast as an evil villain that girls don’t want to have sex with. SPOILER When it’s revealed that he’s the “High Roller,” the one coming to take the young Babydoll’s virginity, one can’t help but think that women all over the country would line up for that spot. Now maybe if he was more evil or allowed to really play the villain it would work, but we barely see him in the start and in the end, he’s really not all that bad. If all we get is a sexy Jon Hamm, it’s hard to see what problem is, and if there is not problem, there’s no film.

Overall:

I can’t tell anyone not to go to this, because there are some really great aspects to this and it’s hard not to appreciate such a unique and interesting idea. That being said, it was not as enjoyable as it sound be and it definitely is no “Alice in Wonderland” story. The visuals were good, but not Snyder’s best. It’s a fun idea that’s never fully accomplished on screen.

Rating: 5/10

Sucker Punch is in theaters March 25, 2011.

Trailer:

Photo Gallery:

Interview: Abbie Cornish and Emily Browning for Sucker Punch

Mali Elfman — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:46:24 +0000

This week in theater, the two gorgeous, bad-ass, blondies, Emily Browning and Abbie Cornish will be leading the way and battling their demons (literally) in Zack Snyder‘s (read interview) latest action-adventure, Sucker Punch. In a film filled with women, you’d expect there to be some cattiness, but not with these fine ladies, there was more likely to be group wolf cries than bitchiness. Not only did they take their roles seriously, but also their bond with one another and it shows on screen.

We sat down with them to talk about bringing their deep-seeded characters to the big screen, working with Snyder and the other ladies, and some of the interesting on set special effects, which includes poor Emily Browning trying not to laugh when she was battling a “dragon” that she states below looked more like a “giant green dildo.” Find out the details below…

It’s nice to see so many women on screen and cattiness not be an issue especially consider the young teenage women who will see this film. Can you talk about the importance of that message?

Emily Browning: That was a huge role for me because even in the original version of the script I was just so impressed by the fact that these girls love one another and they’re fighting together. When our characters sort of butt heads at the beginning, it’s not over anything petty. It never becomes bitchy or catty, it’s kind of, the just genuinely disagreeing of something, and the fact that they sort it out, I think is fantastic.

I’m not really a fan of that culture of girl hate and that idea that women can’t get along, I think that’s completely bullshit to be honest and I think that’s, I don’t want to get too psycho-feminist on everybody and say that it’s just something that’s perpetuated by a fellow-centric society to make us not able to band together but anyway, that’s just something that I, I don’t know, I really like that about this film and I think that’s important, and something hopefully that we can see more of.

And even when it comes to us as actors, everyone is sort of assumes, oh five girls working together, you must’ve hated each other, and honestly, it couldn’t be further from the truth. We had the best time and have become like family. I can talk about that question for an hour…

And Abbie, how about your character that has to fight with the other girls?

Abbie Cornish:I felt like I had a hard role to play in regards to that because all of us did bond so fast and we all love and cared for each other so much from the very beginning. I had the one character that is the opposing side to this whole excitement about freedom and getting out. I had to play this kind of tough hardcore role, that stood up and said, “No this is not a good idea, I don’t think we should do this.” I was a Sweet Pea in regards to a sister — very controlling. This fear, this feeling that something bad might happen. So, we’re all there having an awesome time in between takes and then I have to go and be tough old Sweet Pea, you know. It all comes from a good place. That was actually, where I found it, where it came from. This kind of love and care for Rocket; the intensity of what this means, and what’s going to happen.

….And then I just had to make a decision. This is the direction I’m going to go in. This is how I’ve got to play this character in order to really work because if I sit and try to mix all the sensitivities of the real world in with this, I’m going to be confused as an actor when I walk on set. So that was a journey for me with Sweet Pea, and I just had to trust too the bookends of the film that you do get moments as an audience member to see her in her most rawest, pure, real state even though the film goes off into a fantasy and it goes off into a dream world, that there’s glimpses of it in there but you also get a good taste of what that is.

One of the interesting things that I find about your characters is that with Baby Doll, she’s finding strength in her vulnerability, and with Sweet Pea, she’s finding vulnerability in her strength. Could you talk about the journey towards uncovering that in your characters?

EB: Yeah I haven’t thought about in that way before, that’s certainly cool –

AC: The mirror thing too because the two characters, it’s interesting, the very beginning of the film, when they look at each other from across the room. Sweet Pea is up on the stage, Baby Doll is there, for me that was incredibly important moment in regards to the story line between them. It’s not long after that when she shifting to a different world and what that connection meant and what those reflections were within each other.

EB: I think there’s sort of two sides of the one coin, so it’s interesting that you say it’s sort of the reversal because that’s how we wanted to play it. I think that’s kind of made obvious in the film to some degree. When Sweet Pea takes off the wig, I think that you can see that they’re the reversal of one another… I kind of see all of the characters as different projections from Baby Doll’s mind. It’s her fighting against herself, in a strange way…

AC: Definitely, I was fascinated by that journey. Sweet Pea’s journey, really was. It’s such a wonderful journey. I think both of them actually. It’s interesting both of those journeys were beautiful ones to explore.

Earlier this week I spoke with Neil Burger about Limitless and he said that you were a natural athlete. He was really impressed with your athletic ability. What was the training like this for you? Was it a challenge of natural for you?

AC: I loved it. I think of course it’s going to be a challenge because there’s things that I was doing that I’ve never done before. I totally embraced it. For a while I actually wanted to do a film where I could train, a film where I could be very physical in a role. I was waiting for one to come along, and then this one came along and it’s so perfect because I had that, but there was also really solid storyline and a really interesting different film there. I hope to do more films where I get to run around and jump and you know train, and climb things.

When it comes to working on set, we had Hudgens, Malone, and Chung earlier and they were talking about, they are describing the set with Snyder as kind of like this nice change in temperature. He knew how to set everything right so you guys could get right into that mind set, no matter what fantasy world you were in, could you talk a bit more about that?

EB: I feel like when we were doing the action scenes it was pretty, obviously we had to remain in character but they were pretty purely physical scenes. And what was most important in those scenes, and what was most important in those scenes — cause you know we had our choreography down, we knew what we had to do — what was most important was that we were in the moment, in that mood. So when we were filming the action Zack Snyder was just in a great mood and he was like, he was always in a great mood, I’ve never seen him in a bad mood in my life, but he was just very playful and we’ll be like throwing the football around and being silly, and just warming ourselves up. We would be all of us, particularly Jena [Malone] would be doing like wolf cries in the corner and like speed push ups to try amp ourselves up.

AC: He’s such an aware director. So responsive. He has the mind of a genius, I really do. It’s kind of incredible. He — as a director, as a filmmaker, as a technical filmmaker, as a human being, as a storyteller, it’s a wonderful mix to have in a director and as an actor, it’s incredible to work in that environment.

EB: The fact that he’s also one of the loveliest people in the universe is really helpful. It makes you want to work even harder for him. Not only is his vision so amazing and cool and you love his work, he’s also a really, cool, sweet person.

We were talking about the use of real scenery and the special effects that they had to bring in. They told us the dragon was actually a golf cart?

AC: The dragon, the one they wheeled in there, the big one. Oh my gosh, that thing! We had giggle fits for a while when we first walked on set.

EB: The baby dragon was even funnier. It looked like this giant green dildo. I had to like ride it and we just thought, this is the stupidest thing. We were just like laughing, bursting into laughter when we were doing it. Thankfully it doesn’t look like that in the actual film, but…

Do we get to see more of you guys dancing? I love the end credits. I want to see that whole sequence thought.

AC: Yeah that will be one the DVD.

Check out the ladies in Sucker Punch starting March 25th!

Limitless: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 01:20:00 +0000

Get ready to go on a drug binge this weekend with director Neil Burger’s adaptation of the Alan Glynn novel, Limitless starring Bradley Cooper as a drugged up NZT addict. I received an NZT pill a while ago with a key containing an ad with Bradley Cooper selling NZT — I have yet to try it, but if the experience is anything like it is in the film, it could be fun! Find out more about the film below…

The Players:

Director: Neil Burger
Writer: Leslie Dixon (screenplay) and Alan Glynn (novel)
Actors: Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Andrew Howard, Anna Friel
Original Music by: Paul Leonard-Morgan and Nico Muhly
Cinematography by: Jo Willems

Official Plot:

A paranoia-fueled action thriller about an unpublished writer whose life is transformed by a top-secret smart drug that allows him to use 100% of his brain and become a perfect version of himself. His enhanced abilities soon attract shadowy forces that threaten his new life in this darkly comic and provocative film.

The Good:

Visuals: You could tell that someone knew that just telling this story wasn’t going to be enough, it was how they were going show it that would sell it. The visuals in this film take it from indie drama, to intense, action, thriller. From the great use of lighting (which is a great example as to why DPs and Gaffers are so important), to the effects, to taking a simple shot of him cleaning his apartment and making it interesting; they did a good job of taking a story about a character on drugs and making it visually interesting. Though some of the shots were excessive (the letters falling all around him as he writes) the overall effects were something that really helped keep the pace of the film going during those plot building moments and give the audience that “something more” they’re always looking for.
Surprising Moments: There are a number of surprising moments that come out of people acting like real people in an extraordinary situation. Despite the fact that this film is basically a fantasy, they managed to ground the character. As a result, the bigger moments were more surprising and had more impact on the audience.
Dark Sense of Humor: This is something that’s hard to sell to mainstream audiences because often times people just “don’t get it” or it falls flat. They did a great job of balancing the darkness in this film and bringing out the humor in seemingly unfunny situations. It was surprising to see them take such bold risks throughout the film and then make jokes about it, but it kept you engaged in the film and the characters.

The Bad:

Over Voice-Overed: I remember a scriptwriting teacher telling me “never write voice-overs unless you have to” — now this film was fast paced enough and they used the voice-overs well enough that about 80% of them were great and actually added some much desired emotion or humor to the film. But, there were a few times that it felt like there was unneeded explanations that made you feel like certain ideas were being forced on you.
The Ugly Girl: His ex-wife (played by the beautiful Anna Friel) appears in the beginning of the film, looking like her charming self, and later on they meet up and he’s supposed to not be recognize because of how bad she looks. Though she limps after the first scene, she basically just looks like Anna Friel without make-up on, some obvious bad lighting and a horrible sweater – from his reaction I’d expect her skin to the falling off and her nose to be missing. For such a dark film, I was surprised they didn’t get more ugly!
Lots of Pieces to the Puzzle: And not all of them tied together. Though they all add up, they’re not necessarily all needed. Some of the trips around the world driving fancy cars and jumping off cliffs, though fun to watch and undoubtedly will entertain audiences didn’t really help the story, it just made it a more pretty picture. Again, it’s not bad, it’s just kind of obvious fluff in a film with a lot of actual substance.

Overall:

This is one of those films that didn’t leave me overly excited as I walked out of the theater BUT it was a fun ride while I was in it and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a slightly edgy, humorous, action packed ride, with a bit of social commentary that goes well with popcorn. It’s definitely a great escape movie for those of you needing to be distracted from… whatever you need to be distracted from.

Rating: 6.5/10

See Limitless in theaters March 18th!

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Five New Sucker Punch Character Posters

Krystal Clark — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 23:24:36 +0000

Warner Bros has just released a set of five posters that highlight the kick-ass characters in Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch. The female driven action flick is led by a group of up and comers as well as some veterans and you’ve never seen them like this before. Check out the character posters below…

Out of this group, our favorite poster is of Babydoll. She has a gun and a sword so she can take you out with either one. If you want to die quick, she can hit you with a bullet, but if you’re itching for visceral pain, the blade can deliver. She has variety and we like that!

Set in the 1950s, Sucker Punch follows Babydoll (Emily Browning) who is confined to a mental institution by her stepfather, who intends to have her lobotomized in five days. While there, she imagines an alternative reality to hide her from the pain, and in that world, she begins planning her escape, needing to steal five objects to help get her out before she is deflowered by a vile man. This trailer gives us a better idea of what those five things are.

Sucker Punch is scheduled to hit theaters on March 25, 2011.

What do you think of the character posters for Sucker Punch?

Source: Coming Soon

Bradley Cooper in Limitless Movie Trailer

Krystal Clark — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 20:49:50 +0000

Last week a viral video starring Bradley Cooper surfaced, and it featured the actor pushing a super pill called NZT. In actuality, it was a promotion for his latest film entitled Limitless, which centers on a man who reaches his fullest mental and social potential thanks to the drug. An official trailer has been released for the film that shows us that having it all isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Take a look…

We love the amount of work they had to put in to make Cooper look disheveled in the beginning of this trailer. Besides that, a lot of the footage shown here appeared in the viral video and featured his character living “the life.”

Official Synopsis:

Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro star in Limitless, a paranoia-fueled action thriller about an unpublished writer whose life is transformed by a top-secret smart drug that allows him to use 100% of his brain and become a perfect version of himself. His enhanced abilities soon attract shadowy forces that threaten his new life in this darkly comic and provocative film.

What do you think of the trailer for Limitless? Are you interested in seeing the film?

Source: Apple

Noomi Rapace Up for the Lead in Alien Prequel?

Krystal Clark — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 17:34:26 +0000

Noomi Rapace continues her invasion of Hollywood with another potential project. A few weeks ago we learned that she was cast as the female lead in Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes 2, now there’s word that she might be in the running for Ridley Scott’s upcoming Alien prequel. The last time we checked Gemma Arterton was said to be a candidate, but if we had to choose between her and Rapace, we’d go with Rapace. She’s just looks more badass (see photo above).

According to Deadline, 20th Century Fox and director Ridley Scott have had general meetings with several actresses for the lead in the prequel but no one has been nailed down. Sources claim that Rapace is a real possibility for the part, seeing that talks between her and the studio have been ongoing. She actually met with them prior to her casting in Sherlock Holmes 2

Other actresses said to be in the running for the film include Carey Mulligan and Abbie Cornish. We’re not sure what type of characterization they’re going for but if this woman is supposed to be a badass like Ripley, Rapace would be the best choice. Cornish has also had her fair share of strong roles, with the upcoming Sucker Punch being one of them. We haven’t had the opportunity to see Mulligan in anything horror or action oriented so this would be a first for her.

Who do you think should be cast in the role?

Official Trailer for Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch!

Krystal Clark — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:54:23 +0000

It’s here! After giving you a sneak peek at the first trailer for Warner Bros’ Sucker Punch, the footage has been released online. It’s popped up on Apple Trailers and it has all the ass-kicking, gun-shooting, fighter-plane action that you could ask for. The film is directed by Zack Snyder and has been described as Alice in Wonderland with machine guns. It’s time to see if the movie actually lives up to the tagline. Check out the trailer…

Official Plot Synopsis:

Set in the 1950s, Sucker Punch follows Babydoll (Emily Browning) who is confined to a mental institution by her stepfather, who intends to have her lobotomized in five days. While there, she imagines an alternative reality to hide her from the pain, and in that world, she begins planning her escape, needing to steal five objects to help get her out before she is deflowered by a vile man.

As you can see from the trailer, Snyder continues to use that glossy, heavily airbrushed look in his films. The same dark colors with high contrast and special effects. The film looks to have a similar aesthetic as Watchmen and 300. I’m starting to think that his Dawn of the Dead remake is going to continue to be the only live action film in his arsenal that wasn’t mostly shot in front of a green screen.

Sucker Punch hits theaters on March 25, 2011. The same month Watchmen and 300 were released. Another coincidence? I think not!

Comic-Con Coverage:

What do you think of the first trailer for Sucker Punch?

First Photo: Girls of Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch

Krystal Clark — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 15:32:48 +0000

All this week photos from some of the biggest movies of 2011 have found their way onto the net. Yesterday, we saw the first images of Green Lantern, and new photos from Marvel’s Thor, and today we get a sneak peek at the kick-ass girls from Zack Snyder’s action flick, Sucker Punch. The female dominated film is just one of the many that will be represented at this year’s Comic-Con but you can get your first look at the cast below…

Sucker Punch takes place in the 1950′s and centers on a young woman named Babydoll (Emily Browning), who tries to escape a mental asylum after she discovers that her step-father plans on having her lobotomized in five days. The cast of kick-ass ladies includes Carla Gugino, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone and Jamie Chung.

The role of Babydoll was originally given to Amanda Seyfried but she was unable to take the part due to scheduling conflicts with the show “Big Love.” That has to suck considering her character really isn’t part of the series anymore. The Sucker Punch girls look bad ass and Malone is barely recognizable in this shot. We can’t wait to see the trailer for the film. Snyder had the actresses do a lot of fight choreography and we want to see them in action.

P.S. In case you didn’t notice, the one guy in this picture is Scott Glenn.

Sucker Punch is scheduled to hit theaters on March 25, 2011

What do you think about the first cast photo from Sucker Punch?

Source: OhNoTheyDidn’t, Entertainment Weekly

Abbie Cornish Cast in Dark Fields, Madonna’s W.E.

Laura Aguirre — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:16:18 +0000

In Hollywood, a good actress is usually defined by awards and/or more work. In the case of Abbie Cornish, it’s the latter. Variety reports that the Australian actress has landed two roles — one in Neil Burger’s The Dark Fields; the other in W.E., Madonna‘s new directing vehicle.

Cornish will star alongside Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro in Dark Fields a feature based on the novel of the same name by Alan Glynn. The story revolves around Cooper, who will play a down-and-out writer experimenting with MTD-48 (a drug). In W.E., Cornish will play a troubled woman who is obsessed with royalty. The film will focus on the life of Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (Vera Farmiga).

I’m not quite sure how the story will play out, but I’m sensing a Julie & Julia vibe, where two time periods will collide. Many say Madonna’s first film Filth and Wisdom wasn’t as good as her day job, but for her second attempt she’s lined up a pretty good cast. For Cornish, both roles sound promising.

Last year, the actress starred in Bright Star alongside Ben Wishaw (one of today’s great young actors). She received several nominations for her performance as Fanny Brawne, but nothing too fancy (all of the attention went to Carey Mulligan and Gabourey Sidibe). Cornish also made the controversial cover of Vanity Fair’s 2010 Hollywood Issue, so it’s safe to say that she’s going places. Good for her!

What do you think of Cornish’s latest roles?

Stewart, Mulligan, Cover Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issue

Krystal Clark — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 23:47:10 +0000

Vanity Fair has released the cover of their annual Hollywood issue and it features several actresses who are described as the “fresh faces” of the new decade. Too bad the majority of them have been around for years, but main stream media is just now catching on to them. Kristen Stewart and Evan Rachel Wood lead the pack of nine that headline the issue. Here’s the full photo…

There are several problems with the cover choices for this issue with the first one being the tagline. It states that these are the new faces of the decade, but will all of these ladies be around ten years from now with thriving careers? I remember a few years back when Lindsay Lohan was on the cover of the Young Hollywood issue and we all see how she turned out. Also, where are the actresses of color? Not just African American, but Latino, Asian, give me Native American or something. They usually stick someone in there to make a difference, but this time they didn’t even try.

And last but not least, how fresh faced are Evan Rachel Wood and Kristen Stewart supposed to be? Granted they’re young, but those girls have been around for a while, and the same could be said for Abbie Cornish and Rebecca Hall. They haven’t been front and center of any blockbusters but they’re not new to the game. I could have sworn that Amanda Seyfried and Stewart were already featured on one of these “special Hollywood issues” last year, yet they’re coming back for more?

This year’s layout is boring and unoriginal. Dig deeper Vanity Fair.

(L-R) Abbie Cornish (Bright Star, Guardians of Ga’Hoole), Kristen Stewart (Twilight, The Runaways), Carey Mulligan (An Education, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps), Amanda Seyfried (Jennifer’s Body, Dear John), Rebecca Hall (Vicky, Cristina, Barcelona, The Town), Mia Wasikowska (Defiance, Alice in Wonderland), Emma Stone (Zombieland, Easy A), Anna Kendrick (Twilight, Up in the Air), Evan Rachel Wood (The Wrestler, The Conspirator).

What do you think of Vanity Fair’s choices for their latest Hollywood issue?

Bright Star: Movie Review

JC — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:21:16 +0000

An official selection of the Cannes Film Festival, writer/director Jane Campion presents Bright Star – starring Abbie Cornish and Ben Wishaw. While the film is noted as a portrait of both love AND loss – I am partial to the latter adjective.

The Plot:

In 19^th century London, John Keats (Ben Wishaw), a young English poet, finds himself in the throws of romance with the spunky and stylish girl next door, Fanny Brawne (Abbie Cornish). Despite the opposition of their friends and families, they explore their budding relationship through an unconditional, and certainly unconventional literary connection.

The Good:

The costumes?

The Bad:

An Empty Skeleton: Any synopsis of Bright Star should create the illusion of the perfect romance film. It’s a period piece, it features a covert love affair between a very unlikely duo, and it’s seeping with some of the most beloved poetry in the history of English literature. With that, I can only compare Bright Star to cheating on a middle school math test: my answers were (miraculously!) correct, but somehow the work couldn’t seem more irrelevant – therefore earning me zero credit. Bright Star possessed a number of quintessential factors that make a romance film memorable, but there was no feeling behind these seemingly “correct” story dynamics.
Keats/Fanny’s Relationship: Typically it’s effortless for an audience to feel captivated by a solid love story, especially a non-fictional one. Bright Star is an adaptation of real events – these people were actually in love, and Fanny Brawne inspired some of Keats’ most acclaimed work in the final years of his life. Facts aside, there was no display of believable affection for the audience to latch onto (further indicating how poorly this relationship translated to the screen). Every moment that appeared to have the appropriate ingredients for an “aww” moment was significantly overshadowed by confusion (mental note: they couldn’t possibly have fallen in love during the ten seconds it took me to silence my phone).
Abbie Cornish: While her emotional deliveries were derived from what appeared to be a place of sincerity, there was a palpable insufficiency in her performance: Embodying Fanny’s physicality. As a student of fashion, Fanny is shameless in her arguably audacious sense of style and outspoken nature. In short, she’s got some swagger. Cornish was so awkward in her own body that her discomfort resonated throughout the entire theatre – hence making it difficult to totally believe her in the role.

Overall:

This is a prime example of a failed attempt to tell a beautiful story that an audience would inevitably adore. The disappointment will irritate you beyond words. I am still irritated as I type this.

Rating: 1/10

New Photos of Creation and Bright Star

Mali Elfman — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:21:08 +0000

Over a Collider they just released a ton of photos from films that will be premiering over at the Toronto Film Festival. The first batch of photos that we are posting are from two upcoming period pieces. The first is Creation starring Paul Bettany as Charles Darwin and Jennifer Connelly as his religious and yet faithful wife. The second is Bright Star starring Ben Whishaw as John Keats and Abbie Cornish as his inspiration for his poem (you guessed it) “Bright Star.”

Check out the photos below…

Overall, both these films deal with enlightenment and share a similar tone and color palate. Both Darwin and Keats were creative leaders of their own fields and had strong women behind them. Although the films deal with two completely different subject matters, it looks like they would make for a rather similar and pleasant double feature.

For more photos of both films go to Collider.com

For those of you who don’t know Keats poem “Bright Star” it’s absolutely beautiful, check it out…

Bright Star, would I were steadfast as thou art -

Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night,

And watching, with eternal lids apart,

Like Nature’s patient sleepless Eremite,

The moving waters at their priestlike task

Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores,

Or gazing on the new soft-fallen mask

Of snow upon the mountains and the moors-

No-yet still steadfast, still unchangeable,

Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast,

To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,

Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,

Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,

And so live ever-or else swoon to death.

What do you think of the photos?

ScreenCrave.com » Abbie Cornish

Sucker Punch: Movie Review

The Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 5/10

Trailer:

Photo Gallery:

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Official Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 6.5/10

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

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