Derek Jarman delves into the homoerotic subtext of Caravaggio’s paintings as well as muses on the possible romantic entanglement with one of his models and the model’s wife, in a movie that competes with the original paintings for visual splendor with superb production design. It also contains a calculated anachronistic quality that collapses past and present (electronics, magazines, and cars appearing to distort the mythic quality of the historical context, applying its same visual representations to today). And Sean Bean dies again.
Chilean director Ruiz takes on the post-impressionist painter’s biography, but he’s more interested in figures and ideas real and unreal surrounding the character of Klimt than his actual life story, resulting in a heady drama that feels more like one too many glasses of wine than cerebral. The best parts are when Ruiz keeps the camera spinning and plays with shadows and mirrors, but this is not the best example of either his skill as a director nor the genre of doppelganger/mysterious appearances narratives.
Christopher Nolan’s debut rode in with the tide of neo-noir thrillers by stylish young directors with an eye on MTV editing and an ear for ’40s dialog. What is striking about this particular project is how Nolan makes clear to make his ideas big, even though here he’s managed to shore them in to a sheer 1hr10m. Also weird to see a character named Cobb (Inception) and a Batman symbol on the door to the protagonist’s apartment, which makes you wonder what other minutia from the film will show up in other features.
This week Dan and Kristin take on “Jack the Giant Slayer”. They count down the top ten fairytale/fantasy movies. They also cover some highlights and low lights of the 2013 Academy Awards. Russell Pinkston calls in with his reviews of “21 and over” and “The Last Exorcism Part 2” Enjoy the show!
