Glamour, glitter and Gatsby
With glitter flying to the beat of hip-hop music, Australian director Baz Luhrmann's latest spectacle, "The Great Gatsby", arrives here direct from the Cannes Film Festival.
Boasting a soundtrack co-produced by hip-hop mogul Jay-Z and featuring songs by such modern-day artists as Fergie, Lana Del Rey, Jack White and Florence and the Machine, F Scott Fitzgerald’s story of the Jazz Age centres on the unlikely millionaire Jay Gatsby, as seen through the eyes of his impressionable neighbour Nick Carraway.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the title role, reuniting with Luhrmann following “Romeo + Juliet”. Tobey Maguire also stars, playing Carraway. Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and Amitabh Bachchan are also featured.
The film premiered in the US before it dazzled the Cannes crowd in 3D.
Critics are divided. As with Luhrmann’s previous films, it’s a love-it-or-hate-it-type thing. Just submit yourself and let the crazy spectacle wash over you, Luhrmann’s fans advise.
It was actually filmed in 3D for “immersive” storytelling (as opposed to post-production “fake” 3D). However, it’s also available in good old-fashioned 2D. Up to you to decide whether the glasses are worth the trouble.
Also opening
“Dead Man Down” – Swedish helmer Niels Arden Oplev, director of the original “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”, makes his Hollywood debut with this revenge thriller that stars Colin Farrell and reunites Oplev with his “Girl”, Noomi Rapace. Terrence Howard, Dominic Cooper and Isabelle Huppert also star. It’s at Major Cineplex.
“Promised Land” – What the “frack”? This drama about natural gas drilling in the US Midwest was supposed to open last week. But here it is now. Matt Damon and John Krasinski co-wrote it and star, and Damon got his “Good Will Hunting” helmer Gus Van Sant to direct. It’s at Apex in Siam Square.
“Rurouni Kenshin” – The popular Samurai X manga series is adapted for live action.
“Aurangzeb” – Major Cineplex is promoting discounted tickets with this Bollywood crime thriller – Bt250 Friday through Sunday and Bt180 Monday through Thursday; Bt150 all days for students. That’s a savings of Bt100 on weekend prices and Bt20 off the weekday rate.
Also showing
European Union Film Festival – Prepare for long lines as all the balloon chasers come out to grab free tickets to this annual festival, running to May 26 at SF World Cinema at CentralWorld. The schedule is at EUFF2013th.wordpress.com.
“Boundary” – First it was banned, then it was not. See what the controversy was about for yourself as Nontawat Numbenchapol’s documentary on the Preah Vihear Temple border dispute screens at 8pm on Tuesday at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Find out more at www.FCCThai.com.
The Friese-Greene Club – An oasis of calm for frensied film professionals opened its doors last weekend. A private club in an alley next to the Imperial Queen’s Park Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 22, it’s the brainchild of Paul Spurrier, a veteran filmmaker. Search on Facebook for “The Friese-Greene Club” to find out more.
