Sunday
Last night Adriana showed me a very strange DVD which will probably not appeal to folks who dislike 'art house' movies... but if you like bizarre English phantasmagoria at its quirkiest, set in Brighton and by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean no less, then you will probably just love Mirrormask.
Young actress Stephanie Leonidas has presence beyond her years and reminded me of the young Natalie Portman in Leon, which makes me think she may be one to watch in the future.
I particularly liked the evil sphinx-cats. It is all intensely English, in a magic mushroom induced hallucinogenic Alice in Wonderland sort of way. "We are not at home to Mister Grumpy".
We are not at home to Mr Grumpy, Your Majesty....
Simply marvellous.
Posted by Adriana at May 28, 2006 03:56 PM
Yes, one of the best thing those guys have done. I kinda liked the monkey-birds :-)
Posted by Jainine McAlistair at May 28, 2006 07:24 PM
"Leon"?
Is there another name for that movie?
Netflix has no "Leon."
Thanks.
Posted by Seattle Man at May 28, 2006 07:35 PM
Leon the Professional to give the movie its full name. It was the flick which 'made' Natalie Portman (and rightly so in my view).
Posted by Perry de Havilland at May 28, 2006 07:39 PM
Although Natalie Portman (I think she was only 12 when she did "Leon") was quite a bit younger than Stephanie Leonidas, I agree that Ms. Leonidas does have a lot more gravitas and screen presence than most actresses of her age, so I think the comparison is a fair one. Mirrormask was certainly a fun film and as I always remind my (Irish) husband, you just can't trust a charming Irishman!
Posted by Bobbie Hayden at May 28, 2006 07:47 PM
no, no, no, the coolest thing in mirrormask was the shadows-which-turn-into-eye-spiders!
Posted by Killer Womble at May 28, 2006 09:35 PM
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a sort of Alice in Wonderland kinda thing? I vaguely recall it getting mixed reviews in the most mixed sense - i.e. most of them said it had wonderful and abysmal aspects in equal measure.
I'm not actually going anywhere with this. Is it widely available on rental? I haven't seen it.
Posted by Nick M at May 29, 2006 12:50 AM
Nick - Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this a sort of Alice in Wonderland kinda thing?Original article - It is all intensely English, in a magic mushroom induced hallucinogenic Alice in Wonderland sort of way
So yes, I'd say the consensus is that it is very much an Alice in Wonderland kinda thing :-)
Most of the reviews didn't "get it", that's true, but then it doesn't have any car chases or nekkid chicks in slo-mo, so the mainstream won't "get it", and it doesn't try to make political points or say nasty things about George Bush, so some of the arthouse crowd won't "get it" either. It's just artful strangeness for people who like that kinda thing.
Posted by Jainine McAlistair at May 29, 2006 01:18 AM
Jainine-
LOL! Yes movies which don't have something to say about George W Bush are in short supply.
Posted by John Wright at May 29, 2006 01:45 AM
I have to agree with Jainine, I got and watched the film before I read any reviews, as I am a big fan of Neil Gaiman. I was surprised that reviews were not gushing... I see now that most of them didn't 'get it' at all. Oh well, their loss.
Posted by Adriana at May 29, 2006 04:13 PM
Neil Gaiman's been making this kind of thing for a while.. is anyone young enough to have seen the kids adaptation of Neverwhere the Beeb did in the early 90's?
Any appreciative critics should go find some of his books. Smoke and Mirrors comes highly receommended, American Gods and Anansi Boys are his most recent.
Posted by oli at May 29, 2006 05:20 PM
I saw (and enjoyed) the Beeb's adaptation of Neverwhere. NG himself complained that they had turned it into Dr. Who!
Ironically, you can get the DVD of Neverwhere in the USA, but not in Britain...
Posted by Simon Jester at May 30, 2006 02:05 PM
