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Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
Showing posts with label film. Show all posts
7.16.2010
4.21.2010
Along Came A Spider
Director/actor/stuntman Nash Edgerton's new movie The Square is getting love from the film blogs I've read. I haven't seen the thing so I can't endorse it but I DO endorse this short he made. It's only nine minutes of your time, so take a look:
3.09.2010
Picture Show
Shameless self-promotion. Nothing at all like my thesis, but I did make this movie last year. If you haven't seen it yet, go head:
One Two Three from Sam Jones on Vimeo.
One Two Three from Sam Jones on Vimeo.
3.01.2010
12.18.2009
12.02.2009
analyze why we act this way
We should not mistake reality for fiction- we should be able to discern, in what we experience as fiction, the hard kernel of the Real which we are able to sustain only if we fictionalize it... But much more difficult than to denounce/ unmask (what appears as) reality as fiction is to recognize the part of fiction in 'real' reality. We seek to escape not simply the the feeling of unreality, of the artificial virtuality of our lifeworld, but the Real itself which explodes in the guise of uncontrolled hallucinations which start to haunt us once we lose our anchoring in reality.-Slavoj Zizek, Welcome to the Desert of the Real
11.25.2009
Honestly...
I just watched this "classic" Hitchcock the other day:
And I thought it sucked balls. IMDb, while not exactly a legitimate source for film scholarship and criticism, lists Rope as one of the top 250 films. Ever. OK, so Hitchcock hardly cuts. But when he does it nearly always during a stupid and obvious dolly-in to a character's back. Ooo I hardly noticed that one, Alfred. Might as well have just had an obvious cut. Or turned the fricking lights off for a second.
That aside, I thought the scenario was a half-baked, incredibly contrived take on Crime and Punishment. Stewart was about the only actor who didn't annoy the hell out of me with over-the-top theatrical acting. The dialogue was generally just plain silly and melodramatic. Examples of Hitchcockian ingenuity were limited: a great moment where a character reveals the murder weapon just as a door swings open; the incredible 'real time' studio backdrop in which a sun goes down as the lights of "Manhatan" come on; the great blinking sign out the window that comes on just as the film hits its climax. But these were few and far between. Did any of y'all like this movie? I would love for someone to explain to me how this film could even compare to other Hitchcock classics (Rear Window is one of my favorite films ever) much less be considered a decent movie.
And I thought it sucked balls. IMDb, while not exactly a legitimate source for film scholarship and criticism, lists Rope as one of the top 250 films. Ever. OK, so Hitchcock hardly cuts. But when he does it nearly always during a stupid and obvious dolly-in to a character's back. Ooo I hardly noticed that one, Alfred. Might as well have just had an obvious cut. Or turned the fricking lights off for a second.
That aside, I thought the scenario was a half-baked, incredibly contrived take on Crime and Punishment. Stewart was about the only actor who didn't annoy the hell out of me with over-the-top theatrical acting. The dialogue was generally just plain silly and melodramatic. Examples of Hitchcockian ingenuity were limited: a great moment where a character reveals the murder weapon just as a door swings open; the incredible 'real time' studio backdrop in which a sun goes down as the lights of "Manhatan" come on; the great blinking sign out the window that comes on just as the film hits its climax. But these were few and far between. Did any of y'all like this movie? I would love for someone to explain to me how this film could even compare to other Hitchcock classics (Rear Window is one of my favorite films ever) much less be considered a decent movie.
11.04.2009
Hong Kong, I Love You, But You're Freaking Me Out
I'm way into Johnnie To right now - the man who effectively holds the crown that John Woo no longer deserves to wear upon his dome. Those with access to Netflix - peep game on the watch instantly feature and check out Exiled, The Mission, and/or Election for his best stuff - triad films.
WHY?
I mean,
It don't necessarily come across in the trailer, but the man's got style like whoa. Spaghetti western in Macau with crazy dope visuals and camera movement. If I had more time I'd give you a proper geek out on this film, but this'll have to do. Now go forth and watch movies.
10.15.2009
8.13.2009
Humpday
Google the term "bromantic comedy." You'll find scores of writers using this phrase. So we're going to go ahead and assume that you agree that the comedic subgenre that Judd Apatow made incredibly popular is in fact a real trend. If you're still skeptical, go see Superbad, Pineapple Express, or, what some folks are calling bromantic comedy's "greatest height": I Love You, Man. Fools must not have seen Humpday.
Humpday is still playing in Seattle, where your boy here is from and where the film was shot (for dirt cheap) by local director Lynn Shelton. And yes, she is a woman. Is it playing in your town? Fuck if I know. But you ought to check, because the film was picked up (read: bought) by distributor Magnolia Pictures and is/was playing at major cities round the US. And if it isn't playing where you're at, stay vigilant for the DVD release.
For me, the main appeal of Humpday is that it achieves, and bests, what these in vogue bromantic comedies do - show, in a funny yet earnest way, the love that exists between bros. Whether or not the Judd Apatow comedies have helped bring about or are merely a reflection of this shift in mainstream masculine culture in the US, I would certainly argue that heterosexual man-love is increasingly acceptable to show and discuss publicly. Humpday takes this a step further, however, by directly addressing the homoerotic aspects of male relationships from the get-go.
The premise is that two old (straight) friends dare each other into making a gay porn together. Such a film would be, in their estimation, a work of art, but more important to the characters is asserting their masculinity by not pussing out of this big gay dare. Each guy tries to talk the other out of the dare, one has to tell his wife, a game of basketball descends into a wrestling match - it's all hilarious and believable. The film form aids this believability - the dialogue is almost entirely improvised, and the film is shot in a very raw cinema verite/documentary style. The characters, the situation, and the locations (houses of Shelton's friends) feel real. Real real.
The film is remarkable for the fact that it takes its premise and never lets it descend into a farce. It remains a believable and hilarious character study the whole way through, as our two protagonists attempt to pull off this porn in a desperate attempt to stave off growing old and stale. It's much more mature and just as funny as any of the Hollywood bromances. It makes you wonder: could you bone a straight friend? Is your aversion innate or culturally constructed? And if you did, would that even be art, or just a ludicrous dare?
Humpday is still playing in Seattle, where your boy here is from and where the film was shot (for dirt cheap) by local director Lynn Shelton. And yes, she is a woman. Is it playing in your town? Fuck if I know. But you ought to check, because the film was picked up (read: bought) by distributor Magnolia Pictures and is/was playing at major cities round the US. And if it isn't playing where you're at, stay vigilant for the DVD release.
For me, the main appeal of Humpday is that it achieves, and bests, what these in vogue bromantic comedies do - show, in a funny yet earnest way, the love that exists between bros. Whether or not the Judd Apatow comedies have helped bring about or are merely a reflection of this shift in mainstream masculine culture in the US, I would certainly argue that heterosexual man-love is increasingly acceptable to show and discuss publicly. Humpday takes this a step further, however, by directly addressing the homoerotic aspects of male relationships from the get-go.
The premise is that two old (straight) friends dare each other into making a gay porn together. Such a film would be, in their estimation, a work of art, but more important to the characters is asserting their masculinity by not pussing out of this big gay dare. Each guy tries to talk the other out of the dare, one has to tell his wife, a game of basketball descends into a wrestling match - it's all hilarious and believable. The film form aids this believability - the dialogue is almost entirely improvised, and the film is shot in a very raw cinema verite/documentary style. The characters, the situation, and the locations (houses of Shelton's friends) feel real. Real real.
The film is remarkable for the fact that it takes its premise and never lets it descend into a farce. It remains a believable and hilarious character study the whole way through, as our two protagonists attempt to pull off this porn in a desperate attempt to stave off growing old and stale. It's much more mature and just as funny as any of the Hollywood bromances. It makes you wonder: could you bone a straight friend? Is your aversion innate or culturally constructed? And if you did, would that even be art, or just a ludicrous dare?
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