Posts Tagged ‘Vincenzo Natali’

REVIEW: Splice (with some Q&A with director Vincenzo Natali)

Wednesday, May 5th, 2010

SpliceWhat do you get when you cross a coming of age story, geeky genetic technology, and a creature film? A new generation of horror film from the writer/director who also brought us Cube, Vincenzo Natali. Splice is about two rock star geneticists who decide to cross animal DNA with human DNA to create a barn new organism. What started out as an experiment just to see if it could be done turns into a twisted story of morals and inner demons/monsters coming to surface from each of the scientists. After their lab is taken from their control and charged to concentrate on profits rather than focus on research, Clive and Elsa, played by Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley, decide to take matters in their own hands and take their research to the next level. Eventually they got what they dreamed for but created something that they couldn’t even imagine in their wildest dreams…or nightmares.


Splice is like three movies in one. You begin with a sci-fi discovery movie as you enter the N.E.R.D. lab with the scientists and see how genetics and biotechnology actually works. Then, you’re introduced to Dren (Nerd backwards) and the story quickly turns into a relationship film with strong family ties evident. You watch as Dren comes into her own as she evolves rapidly and dramatically and see how Clive and Elsa both interact with her and how their relationship with each other is affected. Throughout this process to the end of the film where it climaxes, Splice delivers a great horror aspect which will leave you with an anxious nervous feeling even after the end credits have finished rolling. It’s an incredible build up and conclusion as the movie takes you places and does things you would never expect. I can’t wait to see the public reaction after this film hits theaters. This is definitely an indie film which had to be created out of the regular movie studio environment and I’m amazed it got picked up for a major release.

Splice

Elsa (Sarah Polley) meeting Dren for the first time


Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley, and the actresses who play Dren, Delphine Chaneac and Abigail Chu, all give incredible performances which are vital to this film because it is mainly about the relationships and family elements. The casting was spot on since you had to believe that these characters could really be genius scientists and the creature had to be something completely new and familiar at the same time. Adrien Brody seemed to have a different geek t shirt in every shot which was awesome and Dren’s body movements and expressions left you wondering what exactly was going on in the mind of the creature which many films have trouble showcasing. All the cast had to be confident in what they were doing because this movie really does do some edgy things that are quite out there and controversial. Vincenzo Natali held nothing back when creating this project which took him twelve years to complete (he refers to it as his baby). There is so much symbolism and hidden messages in this movie that you can get lost in the fascination of the subject matter.
Splice

Clive (Adrien Brody) and Elsa (Sarah Polley) in Splice


I got to screen this movie at the San Francisco International Film Festival where there was Q&A session with Vincenzo Natali afterwards. He remarked that this was definitely his homage to creature films and Frankenstein. Even the lead character names, Clive and Elsa were taken from the Frankenstein films. He consulted with real geneticist while writing the script and through the development of the film to stay true to the science and keep it real. He was actually kind of shocked when he kept asking the scientists about everything he put in the film and they continued to reply that yes, these things could be done. Many other great questions were answered like the technology which was used, meanings of some of the symbolism, and the reasons some choices were made in the film but I don’t want to give away anything from this film because it truly will surprise you as you watch it and the conclusions you draw for yourself are part of the great filmmaking that Splice has to offer. So, come June 4th, go check out Splice in a theater near you or check out our list of advance screenings to see it early!


San Francisco International Film Festival LogoThis post is part of our SFIFF coverage
Founded in 1957, the San Francisco International Film Festival is the longest-running film festival in the Americas. Held each spring for two weeks, the International is an extraordinary showcase of cinematic discovery and innovation in the country’s most beautiful city, featuring some 200 films and live events with more than 100 filmmakers in attendance and nearly two dozen awards presented for cinematic excellence.


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WonderCon: The Warner Brothers Panel (The Losers, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Splice, and Inception)

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

Warner Bros didn’t tell anybody who or what they were talking about at WonderCon until their panel started. They let us know that we’d get to hear about The Losers, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and a little known movie called Splice. For the first 2 films, many of the cast showed up to answer questions and for Splice and a surprise at the end, Inception, the directors came out to talk about the projects. Warner Brothers also gave everybody in the audience a swag bag which contained a Losers bag, Nightmare on Elm Street shirt and key chain, Splice t-shirt, and Inception t shirt and top. Let’s get on to what I saw….



The LosersThe Losers
You may not know a lot about The Losers yet, but you will. The footage that they showed looked great and for me, Zoe Saldana sells the movie on her own. I guess for women, they have Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Chris Evans. They showed us a fight scene between Aisha and Clay, Zoe and Jeffrey’s characters which have a love/hate, intimate/cautious relationship. The director, Sylvain White said that he believed it was a new benchmark in boy girl fight scenes and I agree with him. Not only was it action packed, it was hot and steamy. There are very funny scenes and great visuals to accompany them: think big guns and bad asses carrying them. Jeffrey Dean Morgan commented that it’s like a throwback to the Die Hards and Lethal Weapons…good comedic action.


I hope the back and forth dialogue during the panel gives a glimpse of what to expect from the movie because it was awesome. The group of actors they pooled together seemed to have great chemistry. Jeffrey Dean Morgan was the leader, taking charge. Zoe was the badass hot chick and commented He (Jeffrey) wears a suit; I don’t wear much of anything. When asked how she felt about being the only female in the main cast she said that she feels very comfortable around men. Chris Evans is the Hacker/IT Guy with a high IQ and he’s surely solidifying his spot in the comic book era of movies. Columbus is the heart of the group and kept referring to his character as the black MacGyver. Oscar is cougar who is the silent quit guy who is just like him in real life. Columbus said his new nickname was Juanny Depp. Sylvain said they were a crazy group of kids and fun to film and it really looks like it – from the panel and the footage they showed.



The Losers attack on April 23, 2010.




A Nightmare on Elm StreetA Nightmare on Elm Street
A Nightmare on Elm Street may be the first actually scary movie in quite some time. It’s obviously a remake of the classic horror film which sequels have fallen to the wayside. However, the remake is said to be more dark and serious like the first film. The biggest story in this film is that Jackie Earle Haley is replacing Robert England as the iconic Freddy Krueger. Jackie said that he tried not to incorporate the last Freddy but tried to find a way to play the character where there’s still something familiar for the fans but where he was also able to call it his own. He tried to get into the mind of Freddy Krueger by studying serial killers and realized he was beginning to watch slasher films. He had to stop because Freddy isn’t a serial killer he’s a boogie man…so that’s what you’re going to see in the film. Thomas Dekker, who plays Jesse in the movie, said that remakes and reboots are a tricky subject but Jackie replied that with the visual effects and technology of today, they can show us things that we haven’t seen yet.



A Nightmare on Elm Street dreams come true on April 30 2010.




SpliceSplice
You probably haven’t heard of this film but if you’re into sci-fi…especially genetics, you will. Splice is about two scientists who decide to take genetics a step further and mix together human DNA with animal DNA to create a new organism. It’s a creature film with social commentary which will go into touchy subjects we haven’t been exposed to yet. The scientists get too attached to the science and once the creature becomes its own…things begin go terribly terribly wrong. It stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley as the scientists and the story begins with them in the lab. They escape with the create to a home where they take it as their own child acting as parental figures until the creature, dren (nerd backwards), escapes. The film was made completely independent and took about twelve years. Vincenzo Natali, the writer and director, started writing the film back when Dolly was cloned and then began filming with they made the embryo in the UK so science has been catching up and evolving with the films vision which is kind of scary.



Splice busts out the lab on June 4, 2010.




InceptionInception
To everybody’s surprise, Christopher Nolan showed up to present his next film: Inception. Not a lot is known about this film but he presented us with an extended trailer which gave us more hints to the plot. From what we saw and what Nolan said, Inception is a heist film where a group of individuals who can construct dreams access the subconscious and extract documents and sensitive information from people. It looks like an amazing and epic film…it’s sure to be this summer’s biggest blockbuster in my opinion. Even though the film was described to be more personal, it was filmed in seven countries and takes us on a journey both physical and mental. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and it looks like he will be training Ellen Page to join the company which infiltrates your dream. Look out for this film!



Inception comes out on July 16, 2010.

WonderCon is one of the country’s best comics conventions featuring guests and events for comics, movies, video games, and other popular media. This year, WonderCon had presentations by such Hollywood studios as Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, and Lionsgate.
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