Tag Archives: Guillermo del Toro

Howl’s Moving Castle + Cronos

Posted on September 5, 2019 by Alice Thirteen
Howl’s Moving Castle + Cronos

Adult whimsey, the burden of eternal life, and the vision of Hayao Miyazaki contrasted against Guillermo del Toro. Howl’s Moving Castle. Early use of computers in animation. Animation that looks good has succeeded. Filmmakers should be free to explore, change, and grow. Miyazaki as an anti-war activist. War as background noise to Americans and in Howl’s Moving Castle. Enriching a film with weird characters. Secret Mexican Frankenstein. Unhinged Ron Perlman. ¿Como se dice gravitas en español? The State of American Cinema is … uh, let’s talk about that another time.

Pacific Rim + InnerSpace

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Alice Thirteen
Pacific Rim + InnerSpace

Size and scale in cinema. How do you keep perspective when everyone’s face is the size of a television? How IMAX impacts filmmaking, or at least the future vision of a movie. Do not miss Charlie Day and Ron Perlman together. Just don’t do that to yourself. Cancel the apocalypse! Saul Williams not appearing in Pacific Rim. InnerSpace, have you seen this? Coffee with Joe Dante. Reversing Pacific Rim does not suddenly make InnerSpace. Joe Dante movies might be as much about Joe Dante as anything else, and that’s actually really fucking cool. Continue reading →

In a Valley of Violence + The Devil’s Backbone

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Alice Thirteen
In a Valley of Violence + The Devil’s Backbone

From the Spanish Civil War to the 2016 Valley. But the other way around. Also, probably not 2016. Ti West returns, and inevitably there’s going to be some conversation about horror. The term ‘slow burn’ is sort of getting annoying. Ethan Hawke, John Travolta, and some other people your parents would recognize. Jakup’s imprisonment in The Devil’s Backbone. Wait, the Devil’s Backbone isn’t entirely in the Spanish civil war is it? Guillermo del Toro strikes back, but more like before. The constant reminder of peril. Also, drones! Continue reading →

Crimson Peak + The Elephant Man

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Alice Thirteen
Crimson Peak + The Elephant Man

Four hundred episodes, one Elephant Man, and a Crimson Peak. One of those David Lynch episodes! Guillermo del Toro finally appears on Double Feature. The directors who forged your taste. Who is the true Guillermo del Toro? Crimson Peak as just the greatest. Is Crimson Peak a great example of the director’s work or some other odd thing? Finding love in a brand new thing. The ceremony of film. Death in cinema. Just how weird is The Elephant Man? How David Lynch is it? Are those things related? The time and place The Elephant Man came out.An extended sandwich metaphor. An unlikely recommendation. Joseph Merrick. Man’s inhumanity to man. No kidding class warfare. Don’t forget, food for thought: Frankenstein. Continue reading →