No Country For Gay Men
The original and the gay version. (via Andy)
Corrado: A Production Blog
Italian director Adamo Paolo Cultraro is shooting his first feature film and is writing down basically every detail about the production process.
The movie, entitled Corrado, stars Tom Sizemore and Joseph R. Gannascoli from The Sopranos.
Adamo’s MySpace.
Saul Bass opening scenes
Odd that some title sequences are better appreciated than the movies. We have covered this territory before but never in this detail.
3:19 Titles
Motionographer has the beautiful title sequence for 3:19, feature film directed by Dany Saadia.
The clip is the work of Mucho Motion with OneSize and Rune Entertainment.
What if: Saul Bass created the Stars Wars Opening sequence
I am not sure the music would be so light. We have featured Saul Bass before.
Where the Wild Things Are
Somebody somehow managed to put this clip from Spike Jonze’s upcoming (now delayed) movie online.
Watch it. (Flash Video) - via Motiono
And now, for the depressing news, read this and hope it’s not going to happen.
Escape From New York: Deleted Intro
I heard you were dead
I always wanted to see this…
Watch it. (Flash Video)
Unseen Sun
Enrique shares ten notes about Chris Marker’s fictional documentary Sans soleil, along with the intro to the movie itself.
Watch and read. (Flash Video)
via scratch
Great action sequence from Casshern
Never heard of the film but it looks fantastic. Sample video and other information.
Review of There Will Be Blood
Wow! Director Paul Thomas Anderson flexes some serious filmmaking muscle in this film. This is the Raging Bull of our times, less optimistic (imagine that), less character arc but they do share the same theme: a strong character who cannot escape from himself. In Raging Bull, the redemption or the self awareness comes, in There Will Be Blood, there is not even a hint of such notions.
The obvious checklist: great acting: check; best acting performance by Daniel Day Lewis: check; incredible detail to costumes and times: check; great supporting cast: check; great directing: check; great cinematography: check; fantastic editing: check; powerful story: check.
So all the great reviews you have read about this movie are true.
Here are some of my favorite moments from the film that you will not hear about:
- Daniel Plainview comes to a small farm to check out a family who are sitting on a valuable oil reserve and don’t know it. He shows up with his son pretending to be shooting quail. The family patriarch, Abel Sunday (played by David Willis) comes out to greet him. The scene is slow and awkward but real. Anderson and the actors weren’t simply recreating an awkward moment, they are recreating a moment from the early 1900’s (I can only guess, of course). David Willis is simply incredible, he manages to play a character without a brain, a simple minded man. Of all the great acting in the film, his performance manages to stand out.
- Another great piece of acting from David Willis is the close-up shot of him eating, right after Daniel Plainview has beaten up his son. At first, he seems to have taken a stand against Daniel but the following close-up of his son (played by a wonderful Paul Dano) indicates that he is actually standing up to his son. Willis manages to show his simple minded choice of ignoring the problem but all the while knowing what is at stake. Fantastic.
- When the baby strokes Daniel Plainview’s face on the train. Such an easy moment to indicate that he is going to father the child. Simple, no fancy shots of paper signing or whatever.
- The bowling alley in Plainview’s house is one of the best set pieces I have ever seen. Seriously, how cool is that. And Daniel chasing Paul around the back, it is playful. You forget how powerful those bowling pins can be. Which is wonderfully relevant to what happens next.
- The final line “I am finished” can be interpreted in so many different ways. From what is just happened to what will happen in the future to the actual movie.
- When Daniel talks about the peachtree dance hall and his brother can’t remember. My reaction to the information mimicked Daniel Day Lewis’.
One of the greatest movies of all time.
Review of Atonement
The book by Ian McEwan is one of my favorite books of all time. Surprisingly, the movie lives up to the book. I expected the film to be decent, not great, as I haven’t heard much of a buzz for this film. However, after seeing it, I’d be shocked if this film doesn’t get a Best Picture Oscar nomination.
One of the fears I had about the movie was it would abandon the beautiful structure that McEwan devised to tell the story. Thankfully Christopher Hampton, who wrote the script, not only keeps the structure but also manages to keep some of McEwan’s poetics. The scene where Briony sees her sister and Robbie near the water fountain is exactly how I had pictured it from all of the various perspectives.
A lot of credit should also go to Director Joe Wright. This easily could have been a film that we as an audience could watch from a distance. Instead, almost everything is seen through the eyes of a character. Everything is laced with a character’s subjectivity. To switch perspectives, there is no fade to black or any other visual device. It is a stream of consciousness that switches back and forth. So well done!
The biggest difference, in terms of emotions, is the beginning of the second half of the book/movie. The book’s second half numbs you to the pain from the 1st half. One of the greatest scenes in any book I’ve ever read. The movie sadly disappoints here, why wasn’t there more walking? more brown? more carnage?
The acting ensemble is solid. I am not entirely convinced of Keira Knightley as Cecilia, however, James McAvoy as Robbie is picture perfect. To many, this might seem like another stuffy costume drama. This is as modern as any film you will find. From the story to its character to the film’s style, there is a lot of risk taking. Go see it, this is one of the great tragedies of our time.
Directors Notes: Four Eyed Monsters
One of my favorite voices on the internet talks with the creators of Four Eyed Monsters.
Listen here - Our interview with the pair
Juno quickie-review
Go see it! Fun in a pop culture way. Easily, one of the best comedies of the year.
Theresa Duncan’s History of Glamour
41 minute animated beauty! Currently, the suicides of the creator and her boyfriend are making big headlines.
Watch it - Vanity Fair article
Peter Jackson’s Bad Taste
The Lord of the Rings director first feature back in 1987 is available online.
An alien prevention group called Alien Investigation and Defence Service’ - A.I.D.S(!)¸ wage war on aliens that have come to earth to supply an intergalactic fast food chain with a new dish - human flesh. They meet many challenges and many aliens (who can easily be distinguished by the blue oxford shirts they all wear) along their quest of stopping the invaders. It is very difficult to believe that Peter Jackson (as in Peter ”Lord of the Rings” Jackson) had anything to do with this movie. But¸ not only did he direct this home-grown funny¸ he played the main character - derek¸ who spends the majority of the movie losing pieces of his brain out of a wound in the back of his skull. This movie has a certain monty python meets my 2nd grade class clown kind of feel. Except without the class or the monty python part. And I mean that¸ as a compliment.
Watch it (1 hour & 31 mins)
Recent Picks
Support us