Breathtaking Cinema

Wanna know how much of a goob I am? I loved Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Went to see that this weekend with my wife and WOW! The epic feeling that exudes from the use of darkness and negative space in the first 20 minutes of the film as well as from the oversized Gotham (New York) skyline is incredible. Everything feels larger than life. It's Art Deco poetry set to motion. Add to that atmosphere a dashing leading man, Joe Sullivan (Jude Law) and the most classical beauty of the present day theater, Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) and you've got a pretty cool film. It was well worth the $11 and the time for me. You really need to like the bigger than the screen, cheesy old cinema glamour of the 40's and 50's to enjoy this. It didn't hurt when in the first 15 minutes the giant robots were chasing Paltrow's character down the deserted New York street with lights and shadows that represent a time of day that just doesn't exist, Perkins stooped down, grabbed the seam of her skirt in her hands and ripped a slit that would allow her to run more easily. That slit exposed her lovely legs caressed by thigh highs with that little hint of restrained sexuality with a touch of lace at the top. Hmmmmm . . . OK. Maybe I liked the whole sexual atmosphere most of all. The setting for this film may have been a time that didn't exist anywhere except in my mind. The female lead wore deep colored lipstick, high heels (that she slides off and I swear I can at least imagine hearing the sound of the leather against those silk stockings), thigh highs and fitted skirts that remind you how she's a woman. Her hair was straight but with a few curls at the end. It wasn't 2 inches from her skull the way that women apparently chose to wear their hair now (yes, Mabel, that's hyperbole). It showed that she was a woman who took some time to get ready but ohhhhh, my oh my, she was the kind of woman that lead you to believe her getting ready would be worth being around for whatever she was getting ready for. In reality Jude Law's performance was a little flat. Giovani Ribisi (what a cool name for a guy that seems so totally American Little League baseball and t-shirts) gave a great performance but his was only a bit role. He did a good job but could realistically only help the film so much.

If you want a cool shot of hollywood glamour where you get some sexual tension without any overt sexuality (or much language as I remember) then this movie should fit the bill. If you expect deeply moving performances, ideas that challenge you philosophically or Matrix-style kung fu on a Hollywood budget then this ain't your show.

Thanks for reading,

Kev