The Playlist

Style Or Substance? 20 Visually Stunning Movies That Go For Broke

By The Playlist Staff
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May 8, 2013 1:51 PM
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23 Comments

Features

No matter what you think of Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby," opening this week in ultra-luxurious 3D, one thing's for sure – it looks pretty spectacular. Filled with lovingly crafted costumes, opulent sets, and computer generated imagery that makes ragtime New York seem like a quasi-futuristic metropolis, it is drunk on its own excess. It feels like the movie Luhrmann has been angling towards for a while and has finally achieved (thanks in part to the added dimensionality of 3D), for better or worse. It's a giant, gilded, vulgar monstrosity that overwhelms more often than it entertains. And it got us thinking about other movies whose similarly excessive styles have either been an asset or a detriment. So put on your 3D glasses, your best pink pinstripe suit, and grab a glass of bootleg liquor, for our list of 20 visually dazzling movies.

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Tarsem & Ryan Reynolds Are 'Selfless'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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April 24, 2013 10:33 PM
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5 Comments

News

Tarsem, the man behind movies "The Cell," "The Fall" and "Immortals," has always had bold visuals to with his ambitious films, but the ends results always seem to fall just a little short. He's a master stylist to be certain, and even something like the somewhat absurd sounding "Selfless," opens the door to plenty of opportunities for creativity.

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Chinese Superstar Gong Li Joins Tarsem Singh's 'Marco Polo'

By Charlie Schmidlin
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May 29, 2012 6:25 PM
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2 Comments

News

As the historical 13th century voyage of Marco Polo stands as a symbol of the West's relationship to China, it seems fitting that an upcoming feature film about the explorer, long gestating from “The Fall” director Tarsem Singh, will provide opportunities for both cultures to partner up on the project.

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Review: While Gaudy & Gorgeous, The Almost G-Rated 'Mirror Mirror' Is A Forgettable Lark

By Drew Taylor
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March 29, 2012 2:12 PM
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2 Comments

Reviews

“Mirror Mirror” is like the big budget Broadway show that you’re forced to see when your parents are in town. The costumes are exquisite, the staging quite grand, the performances typically arch, and while it flits by you it’s easy to be entertained and occasionally tickled (even if you wince more than once during its intermission-free running time because of its sweetness and attempts at relevant hipness). But once it’s over, and the house lights have gone up, and your parents have returned to Wahoo, Nebraska, you’ll never, ever think of it again. For a movie based in the primordial world of fairy tales, “Mirror Mirror” is remarkably forgettable.

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'Mirror Mirror' Director Tarsem Singh Explains Why His Movie Needed To Come Before 'Snow White And The Huntsman'

By Jen Vineyard
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March 29, 2012 1:00 PM
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2 Comments

News

A lot has been made of the rivalry between "Mirror Mirror" and "Snow White and the Huntsman" -- exemplified by the chicken-race with release dates. Before "Mirror Mirror" director Tarsem Singh could even start shooting, he told The Playlist he knew that his film had to be the first to hit theaters, "because we couldn't afford to be second."

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'Mirror Mirror' Team Tarsem, Lily Collins & Armie Hammer Talk The Influence Of Andrei Tarkovsky, Breaking The Fourth Wall & Not Fighting Girls

By Jen Vineyard
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March 26, 2012 5:53 PM
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3 Comments

Features

"Mirror Mirror" is the latest in a long line of Snow White stories -- "Once Upon A Time" on ABC is ongoing, as is the saga of Snow White and her Fabletown cohorts in the graphic novel series "Fables," with the film "Snow White and the Huntsman" not far behind. The Tarsem Singh-directed film, however, is the most kid-friendly of the bunch, with the evil queen character played for laughs by Julia Roberts. Even if this film only has a touch of the dark side, its stars Lily Collins and Armie Hammer insist "Mirror Mirror" is more modern, because Snow White learns to fight for herself, her prince, and her people. "Our Snow White has no huntsman," Hammer noted, "but it's an over-the-top family comedy. We're not trying to make 'Grapes of Wrath' here." And because it's a Singh film, the visuals are everything, as the two leads and the director shared with The Playlist.

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Tarsem Singh Taking A Look At Sprawling Contemporary War Movie 'Eye In The Sky'; Film Features 62 Parts

By Jen Vineyard
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March 19, 2012 5:53 PM
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2 Comments

News

To follow the spectacles of "Immortals" and "Mirror Mirror," director Tarsem Singh has previously said he'd like to try something non-visual -- such as a talking-heads movie in the vein of "My Dinner with Andre." But before he gets to tackle anything that simple (at least as far as visual feasts go), Singh has his eye on "something in-between" a talker and a stunner that he hopes to do, should the deal go through -- a sprawling, Steven Soderbergh-like hyperlink film inspired by "Traffic," "Contagion" and "Syriana" called "Eye in the Sky."

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Watch: Guy Pearce & Maggie Grace Bicker While Armie Hammer & Lily Collins Fight In Clips From 'Lockout' & 'Mirror Mirror'

By Kevin Jagernauth
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March 8, 2012 3:37 PM
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4 Comments

News

Guy Pearce is one of our favorites -- let's get this guy an Oscar already -- and while his next flick "Lockout" won't get him any awards season play, we're still dying to see it. Why? Because in the Luc Besson-produced movie, Pearce is going full throttle into action hero mode, complete with more one liners than the Cannon Video catalog, and packing rippin' biceps to boot. In this clip from the movie, Maggie Grace once again plays "annoying," which she does pretty well, while Pearce patiently tries to shut her up and get her back home. Feels like we time warped back to a movie from 1987....in a good way. Oh, and a bit of positive news: this just got moved up a week to April 13th.

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'Immortals' Helmer Tarsem Singh To Direct Ex-Guillermo Del Toro Project 'Killing On Carnival Row'

By Oliver Lyttelton
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November 17, 2011 6:48 PM
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5 Comments

News

Tarsem, or to give him his full name (the director seems to have abandoned his mononame pretensions of late), Tarsem Singh, has had a mixed week. On the plus side, his latest film, swords & sorcery actioner "Immortals," opened to a healthy box office haul of $32 million -- despite some poisonous reviews -- exceeding most expectations, and likely planting the director firmly on the A-list. On the minus, the trailer for his next film, Snow White tale "Mirror Mirror," debuted to almost universal derision, seeming to immediately undo any suggestion that the commercials veteran, who won acclaim with passion project "The Fall," might become the next Zack Snyder. Or even the next Dominic Sena.

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Tarsem Wants To Do A 'My Dinner With Andre' Or 'Knife In The Water' Style Movie Next

By Kevin Jagernauth
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November 11, 2011 3:35 PM
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2 Comments

News

The only thing commercial helmer turned feature filmmaker Tarsem has never been lacking is ambition. His first film, "The Cell," found a film delivering a serial killer through the prisms of Damien Hurst and Alejandro Jodorowsky. His follow-up was a more personal effort, "The Fall," a visually dazzling fable. This weekend he brings Greek myth to life with the 3D "Immortals" and ever busy, next spring Snow White gets pitched through his unique lens in the colorful "Mirror Mirror." There is no doubt that Tarsem has firmly stamped himself a filmmaker with an eye-popping visual flair, but it looks like he's ready to broaden his palette a little bit.

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