Film Daily
June 30: Found this article from a tweet by Roger Ebert. If you’re interested in racism in contemporary Hollywood, exemplified by Avatar: The Last Airbender then by all means read this well written piece.
http://splinterend.tumblr.com/post/749364670/facepainting
June 29: Check out this article naming the best shot films of the decade. http://www.movieline.com/2010/06/was-amelie-really-the-best-shot-film-of-the-last-decade.php
What’s your pick for best shot film? Remember we’re talking about “shot” not “directed”, yes there is a difference. Email me your picks, and I’ll post em.
June 28: Where have I been? No idea. But hopefully you enjoy the screenings for June. The other day was the anniversary of the Potemkin uprising so watch Battleshop Potemkin in honour of that and learn yourself some Russian cultural and film history.
June 27: Here’s a link to an article on why Tim Burton is so wrong to direct the stop motion Addams Family. He always takes the glory for stop motion when really is belongs to Henry Selick – the director of A Nightmare Before Christmas – I bet most people think Tim Burton directed it, and that’s what he wants you to think.
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/why-tim-burton-is-wrong-for-a-stop-motion-addams-family.php
June 25: Because of directors with big egos who want to cash in on having been the only person to direct Catcher in the Rye, it’s going to be a movie. And it shouldn’t be. I’m looking at you Jason Reitman – leave the book a book and respect Salinger’s wishes. But in Reitman’s eyes, the author is dead so making his work and disrespecting and devaluing everything about it is fair game. Read this article and let me know what you think of this travesty.
http://www.salon.com/entertainment/movies/film_salon/2010/06/23/catcher_in_the_rye_movie
April 14: Finally, this site is updated. April is films about rabbits month so stay tuned to see which films I’ve chosen for recommendation. In the coming weeks I’ll also be working on getting up some reviews I haven’t posted or written yet.
I saw on the news today that Sigourney Weaver said something to the fact that Kathryn Bigelow only won the oscar because she was a woman and because the academy likes to award small films that no one sees. Fact: Hurt Locker is amazing. I don’t care who directed it, if you forget for a minute who did direct it you can see it’s masterfully put together and well controlled. I don’t care if a kid directed it. Bigelow did a better job creating a cohesive, strong, moving human drama than any of the other directors nominated. Fact: the academy tends not to give the big awards to animated films, or even comedies for that matter. That doesn’t mean Avatar should have won. I’ll say this once – Avatar is crap filmmaking at it’s best. The best of the worst crap out there. Poor dialogue, no story, no real “acting”, it’s basically a cartoon. Way to go Cameron, you have yet again produced another piece of self-indulgent tripe. Fact: Sigourney Weaver doesn’t know good filmmaking, she is after all, an actor – in a James Cameron “film”. Even Jason Reitman knows Bigelow’s win was well-deserved and I usually don’t have good things to say about him but at least he knows a masterful piece of art when he sees it and acknowledges it as such.
I’m glad the Hurt Locker beat out Avatar. Who cares if it’s a small film? Just because a film cost millions of dollars to make and made billions at the box office doesn’t mean it’s a landmark in cinema? It just means people are transfixed by the hype surrounding it and are too stupid to know a genuine film from a genuine piece of crap.
March 28: Been in crapville for a month. Once I get out, I’ll update this sucka.
February 2: Thats right, woodchuck-chuckers – it’s GROUNDHOG DAY!
I’ll give you a winter prediction: It’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.
January 7: Coming soon… my review of Land of the Lost and you will definitely want to stick around to read that one. Currently working on one for Inglorious Basterds. No, not the 1970s picture, Inglorious Bastards, try not to get them confused. Tarantino solved that problem by spelling bastards the wrong way, see. Clever girl.
January 4: What better way to start off a new year then with a month full of vampire films? One of my favourite films from TIFF ‘09 Daybreakers is finally having it’s wide release on January 8th, and to celebrate how awesome that film is, I’ve dedicated the entire month to vampire films. And as always, I have included old films from the 20s and 30s so you can see the progression of the vampire lore on film. Don’t expect to see Twilight any where near my recommendations because that would be just so wrong. If you want to see real vampires just keep checking the screenings this week page, or watch True Blood (aka one of the best shows ever).
Happy viewing, and don’t forget to sleep with the light on, and a little garlic by your bedside.