Comments for Dion at the Flicks

Comment on Blade Runner by Chris

Chris — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 15:41:02 +0000

I think Scott purposely keeps viewers at arms length by not giving us much to chew on from the perspective of the human characters. They’re wooden, detached, more concerned with protecting their own sorry butts than appreciating life. By contrast the replicants feel sorrow, loss, desperation and an even joy. They laugh, joke, cry and try their hand at love. At the end Roy saves Deckard simply so that he can relate some of his most cherished memories to him. It’s his way of saying to the human race “Wake up! You don’t know how lucky you are.”
I’m for one am glad that Scott went back in and corrected some of the visual gaffes, this film deserves it.

Comment on The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari by Danny Hahn

Danny Hahn — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:46:13 +0000

I love this movie! I recently composed a new score for it: http://tinyurl.com/39cmk75

Comment on Tron by Bonnie MacBird

Bonnie MacBird — Sat, 29 May 2010 04:16:53 +0000

Hi Dion, nice article. I was the original writer on that film, and the Bruce Boxleitner character was based on computer scientist Alan Kay, who met with Steven and me early in the process. I hired Alan as the technical consultant and we worked on the script, spending quite a bit of time on the concept of “agents” inside the computer, for over a year. Alan and i have been married for 26 years now! ….Bonnie MacBird

Comment on Blade Runner by Tron « Dion at the Flicks

Tron « Dion at the Flicks — Thu, 27 May 2010 23:32:59 +0000

[...] Giraud (who had previously worked on Alien (1979)) and Syd Mead (who was also working on Blade Runner (1982) at the time), the backdrops, vehicles and costumes perfectly blend angular, geometric [...]

Comment on Star Wars by Tron « Dion at the Flicks

Tron « Dion at the Flicks — Thu, 27 May 2010 23:32:54 +0000

[...] towards darker-tinged science fiction and fantasy. This was partly in response to the success of Star Wars in 1977, as is apparent with the generally goofy (but at times surprisingly sinister) Disney [...]

Comment on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs by The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari « Dion at the Flicks

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari « Dion at the Flicks — Tue, 25 May 2010 23:24:18 +0000

[...] But pre-dating both yet just as influential is Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920): everything from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) to Edward Scissorhands (1990) can be in some way traced back to this important work, but so [...]

Comment on Brazil by The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus « Dion at the Flicks

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus « Dion at the Flicks — Sun, 23 May 2010 22:47:35 +0000

[...] who saves the day, being totally believable as Tony in a third act right up there with that of Brazil (1985). Ledger’s cocky, manic performance is transformed into cool egotism by Farrell, as [...]

Comment on Time Bandits by The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus « Dion at the Flicks

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus « Dion at the Flicks — Sun, 23 May 2010 22:47:32 +0000

[...] It is also the thematic thread that ties all his work together, from the childhood fantasy of Time Bandits (1981) to the supernatural wonderland of The Brothers Grimm (2005). For over 30 years, Gilliam has [...]

Comment on Transformers by Star Trek « Dion at the Flicks

Star Trek « Dion at the Flicks — Sat, 22 May 2010 00:00:29 +0000

[...] and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (who also brought us The Island (2005) and Transformers (2007)), this is obviously not going to be deep or thought-provoking. With those names behind it, [...]

Comment on Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Dion

Dion — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 22:00:40 +0000

I know a lot of people share that sentiment about Burton, but I personally disagree. As an artist and animator, his visual sensibilities are his defining characteristic, just as (say) Tarantino’s dialogue defines his style.

Some people liked Death Proof, but I personally hated it, mainly because Tarantino’s become some sort of banal impersonation of himself. Burton, at least, still seems to be making an effort beyond just empty vehicles for his “look”.

Maybe it comes down to personal taste.

P.S. I’m planning to get back into updating this blog very soon.