Twixt

First thing is first. Do Not go into this movie expecting Godfather or Apocalypse now material. Those were Coppola's masterpieces and no one will ever make anything quite like those films. Okay? Okay. I have been waiting for this film for quite the while. I saw the trailer when it came out and was very excited. It was a long and hard search to find this film but I found it eventually. My hopes had been really high since the trailer, but then I saw some of the reviews which just had nothing but awfulness to offer this film. So I lowered my expectations, and still watched it only to be confused. Not by the film itself, but by the fact that it got bad reviews and ratings. I could see what some people didn't like about it, but I didn't notice anything that would have given such an undeserved wave of hate. I think that this movie is good for people who appreciate obscurity and uncertainty in films. Most of these are hardcore film buffs. This film was very visually fantastic and was very haunting from the start. Val Kilmer surprised me with his acting in this one. He was cocky, depressed, and stressed all at once. Bruce Dern as the kooky sheriff was great as well. All of the cast did good, and same goes for the directing. In the movie Val kilmer starts to have these dreams, and my god these dream sequences are glorious. They are visually very pretty yet spooky. The encounters with people are creepy and quirky. Even the scenes in which he is awake share the same qualities, but there just not as intense. The story felt like homage to Gothic horror films, and there was some vampire content in it. Francis Ford Coppola has been making more personal films, and yes it's noticeable. In a specific scene, I won't reveal, was not really needed and felt like a filler. This movie sort of feels like a really cool dream. Which makes sense knowing that Coppola got the idea from a dream which might throw some of you off, but I loved this film and recommend to all.

source: Twixt

Failed writer of witchcraft novels named Hall Baltimore comes to a small American city on his book-signing tour. There he meets a local sheriff and finds out about the mass murder that happened some years ago, one murder that happened recently (or so it seems), the clock with seven faces all showing different times and vampire (or not) kids across the lake. He decides to stay and write a new novel about all of that. Helped in his dreams by Edgar Allan Poe and a dead girl, and haunted by the memories of his deceased daughter, he tries to unravel the mysteries surrounding him and find an ending to his story. That's the plot of a low-budget, poorly acted and very dull movie named „Twixt", which looks like a work of an amateur. Does that sound like a Francis Ford Coppola movie to you? Didn't think so. But it is. And I can't help myself asking: „Why?" Trying to find an answer to that question I listened to some interviews with FFC and found out the following. The idea for this movie came to Coppola in a dream after some excessive drinking, or so he says. It makes sense because the movie looks like a dream of a opiate-influenced man. It also seems he shot a lot of material and plans to tour the movie showing it every time a little different and with live music, trying to make a unique experience out of it, similar to watching some theatrical play or going to a concert. That idea is interesting but for it to succeed the movie has to be good, and this one isn't. Maybe because of the scenes that were left out, or just because the script is bad, towards the end it begins to make less and less sense. And when the writer in the movie creates his bullet-proof ending, the one the audience gets is full of holes. It's obvious Coppola tries to tackle a lot of things here. Grief, guilt, death, fear of the unknown, the process of writing, the inability to move on (with the story and with the life), artist's inspiration, religious fanaticism, responsibility and probably a few more. And it's a commendable intention. But the feeling is you're watching some kid's work, who has interesting ideas but doesn't know how to make a decent movie out of them, which is very surprising considering Coppola's resume. It's a movie that can make you think, but doesn't give you a reason to. And that's a shame. http://onlineimpressions.blogspot.com/

First off, the story line was quite nice. It was different and off the beaten path of a typical motion picture of this genre. Typically, these types of movies do not impress me, nor do they interest me, but this caught me by surprise. Simply put - the acting was superb. Val Kilmer is not your typical 'Hollywood Actor'... He's much better. Alden Ehrenreich was impressive as well. Next - The cinematography was perfect! Scenes featuring Ben Chaplin as Poe COULD NOT have been portrayed any better. The 'surrealism' scenes aren't used much in films, but it was well worth it in this film.

Best known as the director of classics like "The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now", Francis Ford Coppola has directed some unusual movies in the past few years: "Youth without Youth", "Tetro" and now "Twixt". What's particularly interesting about this movie is that Coppola uses a trick that he previously employed in "Rumble Fish": color objects standing out starkly amid a black and white setting. This could draw your attention to the object...or to the object's color. It's not really a scary movie. Unsolved murders are a common theme in movies. But each character has something perplexing about himself or herself. Just which kind of secret does each of these individuals hold? I recommend the movie. I guess that you could say, it's an offer that you can't refuse.

Oooh exciting! FFC working in 3D or the first time! He doesn't do anything that Scorsese didn't already do better ( and in focus!) in HUGO. There are only two brief scenes in 3D and the effect works about half of the time. The whole film is vaguely focused both visually and conceptually. VAL KILMER working with his ex- Joanne Whalley in what might be come back roles! Except they only talk by Skype and he's got a dreadful pony tail that isn't making a comeback, either. Francis is making a "personal" horror film. Unfortunately, he trades on his own tragedy, detailing the death of his son, without getting anything of value for himself, his sad little video or his audience. This is really dreary stuff. I never saw JACK but I don't think I've ever liked a Copolla film less, ever found any work of his so dishonest or unworthy of mention. You've been warned.

Twixt is written and directed by the legend that is Francis Ford Coppola, and stars Val Kilmer as Hall Baltimore, a writer looking for his next story. One potentially arrives in the form of a ghost played by Elle Fanning. It sounded like a great film premise to me in the pairing of Coppola and Kilmer, combined with a horror/ghost story angle but ultimately I came away from watching this feeling pretty disappointed. It just felt like an episode of Twin Peaks, which is fine as I like that show, but Twixt is sadly not something I'm craving to see again or can really recommend. I would never of guessed a film written and directed by the man who gave us The Godfather, starring the actor who has played so many incredible parts – Heat in particular – would be so disappointing. I'll start with the positives. The film looked beautiful, the use of colours throughout the film really stood out and visually it was a treat to watch. Val Kilmer was as good as I've seen him in years, he really encapsulated this character and added a humour and innocence to the role, whilst being engaging at all times. He has also shed some weight which just from a Val Kilmer fans point of view such as myself was nice to see! He actually looked like he wanted to be there filming this, unlike in some movies I have seen of his recently which were just blatant pay days. Elle Fanning was also good as the mysterious ghost 'V'. She had a sweet innocence to her mixed in with flashes of creepy when she needed to be. As for the negatives? Well, there are a few. The biggest problem I had with the film was the weird story. Val Kilmer's character searches the town for clues and inspiration for his new story, and meets its quirky inhabitants and town legends. We just follow this journey which happens in real-time and in dreams. Coppola himself has admitted when writing Twixt he never had an ending in mind and this really shows. The ending was, well, just that. The film just kind of stopped, leaving me to wonder what the hell I had just watched. The story kept branching off and taking on weirder directions, bringing in stranger characters along the way such as Edgar Allen Poe, it just seemed pretty obvious no one really knew what was going on. The cast themselves have admitted as much whilst promoting the movie. I just wasn't sure if it was meant to be a comedy, drama or horror film, and it wasn't confusing in a good way. As I mentioned earlier it really was just like watching a bad episode of Twin Peaks. Except without a strange talking little man. Overall, the idea of Twixt came to Coppola in a dream, and as such we are treated to several dream scenarios throughout the film. They are what make the film more complicated than it needs to be, and as such I felt as though those dreams should have stayed with Coppola rather than him trying to share them with the world. The only redeeming part to me is the performance of Val Kilmer, so I can only really recommend it to his fellow fans as the man shows he can still act. For everyone else, if you're a fan of the great director maybe go watch The Godfather or Apocalypse Now as from now on he is only going to make films he loves, and going by the example shown in Twixt I'll stick to his old masterpieces if this is what he loves. Please check out my blog for more reviews http://headinavice.wordpress.com

This is Coppola * David Lynch. In fact, if this were directed by Lynch it would be hailed as a return to form from the master of the surreal, however Coppola can't seem to catch a break. I've been a big fan of his revitalized art-house film making, admiring Youth Without Youth, and really loving Tetro. Here he continues the trend with a surreal film right up the Twin Peaks alley. It is gorgeously shot, the dream sequences are visually astounding, Coppola playing with blacks and whites, and touches of vivid color, providing a lucid experience. What's more is that this is an extremely personal film for Coppola, with themes of selling out as an artist, losing a child, and confronting failure. It has some great acting, providing Val Kilmer with is first decent role since Felon, and much to his own surprise, he still has it. He is in turns funny, but also hopeless and adrift. Drunk, tired, and distracted as the bargain basement Stephen King. When he roles into town to sign books at a hardware store, the local sheriff ropes him into the haunted towns history. Through a series of strange experiences, and lucid fever dreams (a drunken dream inspired the film) he uncovers the dark secrets of the town, meets Poe, and confronts his long buried feelings. It's a pleasure to watch something so pulpy, abstract, and full of atmosphere.

The decadent writer of witch tales Hall Baltimore (Val Kilmer) travels to Swann Valley, a small town where people go to be forgotten, as part of his tour to promote his recent novel. The town does not have a book store, and Hall stays in a hardware store waiting for his nonexistent fans. Later Sheriff Bobby LaGrange (Bruce Dern), who is an aspirant writer, arrives and tells that he is his fan and asks for an autograph in his book. Then he asks if Hall could read his recent work and invites him to go to the morgue to see the body of a victim of a serial-killer that was murdered with a stake through her heart. Then Hall goes to a coffee shop and discovers that Edgar Allan Poe has once come to a hotel in the town where twelve children have been murdered. He goes to his room and tells his wife through Skype that he is going to write a novel based on the weird events at Swann Valley. Hall falls sleep and in his dream, he walks along a park where he meets the twelve year-old Virginia "V" (Elle Fanning) that tells that is her fan, and then with Edgar Allan Poe (Ben Chaplin). On the next morning, Hall decides to team-up with Bobby to write a story based on his idea, but he is blocked and uses pills to sleep and dream. Along the creation process, Hall entwines reality with his dreams. "Twixt" is a stylish and Gothic movie by Francis Ford Coppola, with a ghost story about the writing process, magnificent cinematography and atmosphere and great performance of Val Kilmer. Unfortunately, the screenplay is messy and disappoints most of the viewers including me. The potential of the storyline is lost with the poor script. My vote is six. Title (Brazil): "Virginia" Note: On 20 Juky 2016 I saw this film again.

Francis Ford Coppola do not do this to us again. If you want to make us wait years in between each film fine. You have earned that right even though you have not made a good film since Dracula. Still some of the films you have made will give you this right for life. If you want to make nothing, but smaller personal films fine. If you want to revive careers of actors who desperately need reviving all the better. All these things are OK with me, but you have to spend more than 2 dollars when you do so. You also have to make them watchable. When Scorcese makes a bad film I can still sit through it. When Oliver Stone makes a bad film (which is all he does lately, let's hope Savages changes this) I can still watch the entire film. If you would have put money into this it may have been at least watchable. I thought this would have been the film to put you and Val Kilmer back in your rightful positions in the film world. I was very wrong. Val Kilmer you must stop making films until a director with talent calls you. I know you thought this was it, and you are not at all to blame in any way this time. You have not had a good role since Wonderland. If you must take supporting roles as you did in Bad Lieutenant by all means do so. Also you must lose weight. I can get past many actors weight gains, but yours for some reason I can not. Maybe it's your jaw bone. Maybe it's the image of your Oscar snubbed role as Jim Morrison constantly going through my mind. Or maybe your head is just too small for your body now. You decide. Danny Parker/Tom Van Allen reference. STOP TAKING EVER ROLE THAT COMES ACROSS YOUR DESK. Please. Well what have we learned from this disaster Francis and Val? Francis just stick to your wine until you have a real idea. Val I really do love you, and you can do no wrong. But you should wait until Tarantino or Aronofsky calls before you do any more damage to my wonderful memories of you.