Wall E/Watchmen Trailer

I had to post this one too, I loved it.

Another Smooth Original

Another Smooth Original Stella ad. I liked this one more than Dial Hard, reminded me of Contempt. For the rest, go to smoothoriginals.com

Dial Hard

This is an ad campaign from Stella Artois called Smooth Original. It is supposed to be a Die Hard With a Vengeance 1960's French style. I found it on Slashfilm.

Roman Polanski's Repulsion

Ticking clocks, doorbells buzzing, phones ringing, isolation, fear, claustrophobia and paranoia. These are some of the things that make up Roman Polanski's Repulsion. This film, made in 1960's London, accomplishes so much with the use of so little. Most of the film is shot entirely in an apartment with one actress. Polanski is able to create a haunting vision of a woman falling into the depths of madness through surreal images, shots that make the audience "jump", sound effects, and a very impressive performance by Catherine Deneuve.

The story takes place in London and follows Carol, a young woman who works at a salon and lives in an apartment with her sister Helen. At first, it seems as if Carol is shy, she doesn't talk much, daydreams often, and disregards the advances of men. She seems lonely but happy to be living with her sister. But when her sister's lover comes around, she gets frustrated. She can't have her sister's attention all to herself, and without Helen to cook dinner for her or take care of her, she almost refuses to take care of herself. This creates the impression that she really can't do anything for herself. And when Helen and her lover go on vacation and leave Carol alone in the apartment, her entire world begins to fall apart.

Little things like cracks in the ground or on the walls of the apartment bother her so much that she sits staring at them. As a small sweat begins to build around her upper lip one can sense her fear building inside. This fear is what ultimately drives her mad. She becomes so claustrophobic, isolated and paranoid that she reacts with violence. She begins to distrust men in particular for fear of their sexual advances. She has nightmares of men grabbing her and being forceful with her. Its as if her character becomes "repulsed" by them.

Polanski's use of the camera in this film adds to the emotional intensity of Carol's character. The camera is delicately placed in such a way that it covers every inch of the apartment from the floor to the ceiling which makes it feel as if the building is closing in on her. The camera is used to reveal things that Carol is thinking and feeling whether surreal, fantasy, nightmare or reality to try and understand her character and add to the realistic nature of her condition. He uses close ups of eyes, images of rotting meat and potatoes, cracking walls, shadows under doors, people appearing out of nowhere, and hands coming out of the walls to create this claustrophobic world in which Carol exists.

Her progressive derangement is depicted with subtletly and suspense. The grainy black and white footage, even with the bad transfer to dvd with its random flashes of white lines across the screen add to the visual style of the film. This style is very much like Ingmar Bergman's Persona and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Those films of the same era, along with this one, began a tradition of directors whose visual style and narrative subtlety left the audience guessing and asking for more. This is the way horror films are meant to be done, not with excessive, gratuitous violence and gore, but with suspense and a growing fear inside the main character as well as the audience.

Gaspar Noe's Enter the Void

The NY Times reveiw of Gaspar Noe's new film, "Enter the Void", got me really excited about this film, but if it is anything like his last film Irreversible, I probably shouldn't be quite as excited. I did not like Irreversible. It was the most disgusting piece of shock cinema I have probably ever seen (and I have seen a lot of fucked up movies). There were definitely things about that film that I liked (the broken up backwards story line, some of the cinematography) but it was too brutally violent for me. This film looks to be a completely different beast. And according to the Times review of the showing at Cannes, looks to be a compilation of several techniques and methods used by some of my personal favorite filmmakers. I'll definitely see it, I just hope its nothing like Irreversible. Read the article on Nytimes.com:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/23/movies/23cann.html?partner=rss&emc=rsshttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/23/movies/23cann.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

The Room Trailer

This is the trailer for The Room, one of the worst movies ever made, yet it has developed a huge cult following because of how bad it is. It is playing at The Plaza next Tuesday May 23. Check it out, I listed the link for the Plaza below:

http://www.plazaatlanta.com/specialevents.html

Sherlock Holmes Trailer

The new Sherlock Holmes Trailer is now up, and I have to say I don't like the slow motion action during the fight sequences, or Downey's horrible accent, but besides those two things I like the trailer. I'll definitely go see it. Check out the link:

http://www.traileraddict.com/trailer/sherlock-holmes/trailer

The Road Trailer

Cormac McCarthy's The Road adapted for the big screen. Viggo Mortenson and Charlize Theron

Scorsese to Direct SINATRA

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3iacbc03133413785f6a03f42baf3c42fe

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/05/14/could-johnny-depp-be-martin-scorseses-sinatra/#more-28161

Check out these two links. The first is a Hollywood Reporter article about Scorsese in talks to direct a film called Sinatra and is written by the writer from Field of Dreams. The second is an article from one of my favorite Movie Blog websites discussing Johnny Depp as a potential lead in Sinatra. Thoughts?

Another Nine Trailer

Another Nine Trailer, this one by Tim Burton and animated

Nine Trailer

Trailer for a new film with Daniel Day Lewis, Penelop Cruz, and more. By the director of Chicago. To be released Nov 25, 2009

Rolling Stone Article on Electric Kool Aid Acid Test Film

http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/27451412/the_ultimate_trip_electric_koolaid_acid_test_heads_to_the_big_screen?source=music_news_rssfeed

Rolling Stone article about the Electric Koo-Aid Acid Test going to the big screen. To be directed by Gus Van Sant, same writers as Milk and Big Love, and same DP as Milk. Possible actors are Woody Harrelson and Jack Black as Ken Kesey. I'm not too sure about those casting options but we'll see what ends up happening. I couldn't be happier that Van Sant is directing it.

Sita Sings the Blues

This is just part one and it is cut off. Watch it on youtube for a better picture and the rest of the film. Check out the website too:

http://www.sitasingstheblues.com

Enjoy!

http://www.slashfilm.com/2009/05/11/why-you-probably-shouldnt-waste-5-more-for-digital-imax/#more-27925

Slashfilm article about why you shouldn't waste your money to see a film on IMAX if it was not shot on IMAX cameras. The new thing is to release these big budget super effect driven films on IMAX when they really are not shot on IMAX cameras. This short article discusses how the Dark Knight used real IMAX cameras for a good number of scenes including everyone's favorite car chase through the tunnels and flipping the 18 wheeler. However, films like 300, Watchmen, and Star Trek were just blown up to IMAX format from their original 35 mm format. Not to mention the fact that these films are not being projected on FILM PROJECTORS, but Digital Projectors. You make the call, I don't like it. Granted you are still seeing the movie huge on a big ass screen and thats kinda cool, but to call the movie IMAX is misrepresentation and not the truth. One thing you can do is look up IMDB and click on the aspect ratio, look at the differences between the Dark Knight and Star Trek.

Blood Diner Clip

Someone recommended this movie to me at work today. It's a B-Movie Horror Flick called Blood Diner.

Talking Heads: Once in a Lifetime

I felt like some Talking Heads today

Juliet of the Spirits

I'm so glad that I watched this film. I love Fellini and ever since I was first introduced to his films back in high school when I saw 8 1/2, Amarcord, Nights of Cabiria, and La Strada I was hooked. I don't know why I never saw this film sooner, but it really grabbed hold of me when I watched it last week. Everything from the music, to the acting, the colors and the fantastic dream sequences. It was beautiful, haunting, poetic, and full of life. After watching Woody Allen's Alice last week and reading about how that is his attempt to recreate Juliet of the Spirits, I decided to watch this. I never really buy into the whole notion of "recreating" films either. I still think that all directors are influenced by one another, some more than others, but in the end there is something to be said about borrowing ideas and styles to try different things. Anyway, this film is the story of a woman who is married to a very wealthy man and she is kind of aloof in the sense that she is dreaming her way through life. She does not want to be realistic about anything, but instead would rather fantasize about how she would like for things to be and she also likes to remember her past. All this changes when she starts to think her husband may be cheating on her and her friends open her up to "spirits" that begin to speak to her. Fellini is the master of dream sequences and creating elaborate circus like fantasies in his characters and this film is full of them. As his first film in color, the shots are beautiful and Juliet is such a wonderful character. By exploring the inner demons, childhood values, reflections of conversations with parents, religious ambiguity, and the deepest desires of her character, Fellini is able to show the audience so much more depth about her character. This film has probably climbed to the top of my Fellini list (for now) right there behind Amarcord and 8 1/2. And one of the main reasons I say that is because of the fantasy and metaphysical nature of this film. It is much more complex a film than something like La Strada which I cannot even really compare to this film because it is more of a straight story (still amazing).

Films I Watched

Since I haven't written much in this blog yet, I thought I'd just rant for a few. I'm sitting here in the tape room doing absolutely nothing. This job has been really cool so far but there is WAY too much down time. Yesterday I was able to watch three movies at work. I watched Diabolique, a 1950's Henri-Georges Clouzot film about a husband and wife that work at a school and the love triangle that exists between the husband and another teacher.

Things go crazy when the two women plot to kill the husband and it takes some really interesting turns in the story. I won't write anymore on this film because I don't want to ruin anything but I would definitely recommend it. I loved it, and I am more and more amazed by French cinema. I already blogged on El Topo which was the second film that I watched. Third, I watched the original Star Trek.

This movie was not as interesting or good as I had remembered, and I really did not remember it very well. Most of the reviews written on the movie call it the "Motionless" picture and I can see why. At the same time, seeing the new Star Trek got me fired up to watch all the old ones so I'm excited about continuing to watch the rest. And next up is the most highly reviewed out of them all: The Wrath of Khan. As for the original, there were some interesting conversations between Kirk and Spock about the nature of completely logical machines vs human emotion. Spock's character was the best part of the film for me, and the character of Decker surprisingly enough is the Dad on Seventh Heaven, which I did not realize so I thought that was funny for most of the film. I watched the newly remastered version so I'm not sure how much of the effects were added later, but I have to say the best part of the film was the effects. The story took too long to develop and there were times where we watched the Enterprise slowly move through space for 5 minutes at a time. And nothing really ever happens. I kept waiting for some crazy explanation but the revelation wasn't all that exciting. Overall, very disappointing.

Anna Karina

Made in U.S.A. clip

I had to post this clip from Made in U.S.A as well. I love this song and she is beautiful.

New Criterion Release in July: Godard's Made in U.S.A.

I had never even heard of this film before I saw it on the Criterion page. It was made between Pierrot le Fou and Weekend and looks really interesting. And of course anything with Anna Karina is definitely worth checking out...

The Hit (1984) Trailer

Brand new Criterion Release of this film. Looks cool as shit, really young Tim Roth.

So I just finished watching El Topo and I have to say I am disturbed, shocked, affected and not quite sure what to think beyond the fact that I'm sure this film will stay with me for a few days. There are definitely things about it that I loved, but there were some totally unnecessary ridiculous scenes in that movie that I could have done without. Its up there with Audition, Irreversible, The Chaser, Weekend, fucked up man fucked up. I think the only reason why it didn't shock me as bad is because it is so dated and the blood doesn't look real. I found it to be very similar to Godard in terms of the "anti" narrative structure. Alot of the scenes were meant to be more symbolic than anything and the story itself takes a strange turn about halfway through the film and I had two completely different feelings for the first and second halves. The first half of the film follows the gunfighting cowboy as he meets a woman who convinces him to fight the four best gunmen and his journey to find them. The second half of the film follows his journey to save a community of deformed cave dwellers. But I have to say I am glad that I watched it. I'm not sure if I would recommend it, I guess that just depends on the person, but it was a hell of an experience.

El Topo is a mind bending, surreal journey through the desert. The film opens with a wandering "cowboy" (if thats even what I should call him) and his sidekick (a naked boy) burying the boy's old toy and a picture of his mother as the cowboy tells him "You're a man now". As they ride off into the horizon, the camera sits motionless with the half buried picture in the sand. The cowboy then has a series of encounters with various evil villians, acts of mindless violence, rape and sadism. The film follows the basic structure of a western but it is the encounters that set this film apart. The style in which Jodorowsky depicts the violence is at times difficult to watch, from the disembowled horses to the killing of crows and rabbits, the slaughter of innocent people and the sado-masochistic pain that many of his characters go through.

There were times that I really thought many of the acts of violence were completely unnecessary but other times when I really liked the way a particularly violent scene was shot, so I really think the level of shock or appreciation of the film depends on the viewer. At one point, the gunfighting cowboy runs into a man with no legs on the shoulders of a man with no arms. The two use each others limbs to help each other survive. All in all it was extremely well shot, the desert, the caves, and the old town all give the film a strong feeling of isolation and loneliness in the barren landscape. Through violence, religious symbolism, rape, and satire Jodorowsky creates a world that blends the western genre with the styles of directors like Godard, David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, and of course Sergio Leone. I've heard him compared to Bunuel who I have not seen enough of yet, but plan to.

Music from Plaid: Michael Arias' New film Heaven's Door

While listening to this music, read the article from Michael Arias discussing his new film. It was shot on the road outside Tokyo in small towns throughout Japan. It is the story of two guys who escape from a hospital and go on a wild road trip together.

http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/michael_arias.shtml

Inland Empire Trailer

Since I have added all this info about David Lynch today, and the article on Inland Empire, I thought I would add the trailer for Inland Empire.

David Lynch Interview and Robert Blake Scene from Lost Highway

I particularly like this interview with Lynch because he explains some of the basics behind the interpretation of abstraction in film. It is always nice to hear a filmmaker like him describe the difference between concrete films and abstraction. Surrealism, metaphysics, dreams, reality, self consciousness, and of course nightmares....these are all themes that exist in Lynch's cinema and are what got me hooked in the first place. Even after watching many other different types of film I still look back at my first experience with David Lynch, Blue Velvet, and will never forget the impact that it made on me. It was a visceral experience that is hard to explain and is different from being moved by a film. That's not to say I've never been moved by one of his films, the scene in Mulholland Drive at Club Silencio moved me. But, he opens doors that in some cases should not be opened, he shows the dark side of things, the underbelly of society. And what makes his films so great to me is the juxtaposition of the dark underbelly and the cheesy, almost laughable surface of his films. He contrasts light and dark through his use of sound and images.

I've been feeling really strange today, so I decided to look up David Lynch on Youtube and found some weird shit. I'm going to post some of his commercials and interviews so this is probably going to be a day to celebrate the dream world of David Lynch...

http://metaphilm.com/index.php/detail/reading-inland-empire/

A very interesting article about David Lynch's films, particularly Inland Empire, Lost Highway, and Mulholland Drive.

New Woody Allen Movie: Whatever Works

In Honor of Star Trek's Release Today: Star Trek Porn

Moon New Trailer

Looks a lot like Solaris

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince New Trailer

G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

Looks like every action movie you have ever seen with "GI Joe" slapped on the title.

http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/article/56303.html

This year's line up at the Cannes Film Festival. Some of the highlights: Almodovar, Up, Gaspar Noe, Park Chan wook, Bong Joon ho, Ang Lee, Tarantino, Gilliam, Amenebar, Michel Gondry, Sam Raimi, and more.

Francis Ford Coppola's Tetro

This trailer looks incredible, I can't wait to see this movie! The shots are beautiful...

Hawks vs. Heat Game 1

I couldn't start a blog without linking some of my videos. This is some of my Final Cut editing for NBAtv.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

Il Divo

Taking Woodstock

First Day of Blogging

So today I started my blog. At first I really wasn't sure where to begin, especially since there are so many things I could include in a movie blog. There isn't any kind of order I can start with in terms of the films that I love and the stuff that I watch, so I figured it best to just put links of my favorite sites, lists of favorite films, directors and trailers of things that I have been reading about. I haven't had a chance to watch anything over the weekend, but the last film that i watched and really enjoyed was The Good the Bad the Weird. The link for the trailer is below. It was hard to find, Netflix doesn't have it yet and I had to order it on Amazon, but if you can get your hands on some Korean films like this one I think it would be worth it. The Good the Bad the Weird is like an homage to Sergio Leone Korean style, great cinematography (I love great visuals in films) the guy who plays the "weird" is a fun character (Kong Sang-ho, a really good actor in Korea, he was also in The Host). Another Korean film I saw recently but did not like as much was The Chaser. This was an extremely violent, disturbing thriller about a serial killer. Very similar to Memories of Murder in a lot of ways (not nearly as good in my opinion) but still interesting. I also watched Christmas in August and really enjoyed that film. It is a nice, romantic movie about a guy who owns a photo shop and is dying (you never really find out how but probably cancer related) and spends his last few weeks working at the shop and meets a younger girl who he falls in love with. It was really cheesy but one of those films that puts a smile on your face. Anyway, that's what I've been watching this week. Next up: Wolverine, Diabolique, El Topo, and Juliet of the Spirits...

Thirst Trailer - Cannes Film by Park Chan-wook

Drag Me to Hell Trailer

The Good, the Bad, the Weird