Monthly Archives: August 2010

3D Already Dying?

Posted on August 31, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 4 comments

Slate has published a great piece on the decline of 3D, which outlines how the format has gradually been losing its profitability since it re-emerged with Polar Express in 2004. As thousands of new 3D screens opened up, the profits from 3D screenings have been tapering off, which Daniel Engber surmises, “There’s either too much supply or not enough demand.”

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Tagged 3D, Avatar, Film, Movie, News, Slate

Summer Movies: July-August (Part II)

Posted on August 30, 2010 by The Filmsmith | Leave a comment

:you can see Part I here:

Here is the second part of my rundown of films I watched during July and August:

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Tagged Apocalypto, Billy Mitchell, Brad Bird, Bruce Willis, Button Button, Film, Gus Van Sant, Kids, King of Kong: A, Larry Clark, Maya, Mel Gibson, Movies, Paranoid Park, Return of the Living Dead Part II, Richard Kelly, Richard Matheson, Sci-Fi, Southland Tales, Steve Wiebe, Summer, Surrogates, The Box, The Incredibles, The Iron Giant, The Yes Men Fix the World

Summer Movies: July-August (Part I)

Posted on August 28, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 1 comment

Immediately following my coverage of the 2010 Edinburgh International Film Festival, my wife and I packed our tiny flat and moved back to the U.S. We spent a month home and then finally moved to Iowa where she is now working on her PhD.

Thus, the summer was very busy and scattered; I left many films in my wake with nary a commentary post. I will now provide a quick rundown of what you should check out and what you should chuck out. Continue reading →

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Tagged Alice in Wonderland, Avatar, CGI, Clash of the Titans, Danny the Dog, Dead Alive, Dead Snow, deux ex machina, Diary of Wimpy Kid, Dod Sno, Edward Norton, Gus Van Sant, Halloween, House of the Devil, Johnny Depp, Kids, Larry Clark, Last Action Hero, Louis Leterrier, Mystery Team, Nazi, Norwegian, Paranoid Park, Pixar, Planet of the Apes, Practical effects, Robocop 2, Sam Worthington, Terminator Salvation, The Incredible Hulk, The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Ti West, Tim Burton, Tom Noonan, Toy Story, Toy Story 3, Unleashed, Up, Vin Diesel, Woody, Zombie

Inspiration for Grindhouse Trailer, “Don’t”

Posted on August 27, 2010 by The Filmsmith | Leave a comment

For those fortunate souls who have enjoyed the cinematic experience of Grindhouse (the theatrical version is not available on DVD), you’ll remember the faux-trailer, Don’t.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6803Gu8tpuw Continue reading →

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Tagged Don't, Don't Go in the House, Don't Look in the Basement, Don't Open the Window, Edgar Wright, Grindhouse, Hot Fuzz, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Shaun of the Dead, Trailers

Blockbuster Bankrupt

Posted on August 27, 2010 by The Filmsmith | Leave a comment

According to the L.A. Times, Blockbuster has lost over 1.1 billion dollars since 2008 and is finally going bankrupt. They have already closed almost a 1,000 stores in the last year and will close another 500 of their weaker outlets. The plan is to move further into the Redbox and Netflix game to stay competitive, something the major studios support. Right now Blockbuster is the only place where you can watch most brand new releases, since Netflix has a 28 day holding period on most new films as per their contract with big film distributors like Warner Bros. If Blockbuster goes under then it’s open season.

One of the other big rental chains, Hollywood Video, recently went under and Blockbuster has failed to properly maneuver itself to stave off bankruptcy. I just moved to Iowa City and the ONLY video rental store is a lonely Blockbuster. So enjoy your video stores while you have them folks.

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Tagged Blockbuster, DVD, Netflix, Redbox, Rental, Video

127 Hours Trailer: Danny Boyle’s Latest

Posted on August 25, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 1 comment

The director of Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and Slumdog Millionaire has a new film coming out in the fall starring James Franco, 127 Hours. It’s based on the experience of Aron Ralston, the guy who had to amputate his own arm after becoming trapped under a boulder in Utah.

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Tagged 28 Days Later, Amputate, Aron Ralston, Danny Boyle, Drama, James Franco, Slumdog Millionaire, Sunshine, Trailer, Trainspotting, Utah

The Walking Dead Trailer Released

Posted on August 24, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 1 comment

After many low quality youtube recordings from Comic Con, AMC has released a trailer for its latest tv series, The Walking Dead:

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Tagged AMC, Breaking Bad, Frank Darabont, Georgia, Horror, Mad Men, Robert Kirkman, The Mist, The Walking Dead, Trailers, Zombies

Why you should be reading “Under the Dome”

Posted on August 22, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 1 comment

Though this blog is titled The Filmsmith, my motto is similar to Rolling Stone: all the news that fits. So I want to talk about Stephen King’s most recent novel, Under the Dome.

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Posted in Filmsmith Faves, Reviews

Tagged Apt Pupil, Carrie, Christianity, Cujo, Different Seasons, Firestarter, George Bush, Hitler, Pet Sematary, Politics, Rage, Stand By Me, Stephen King, subtext, The Bachman Books, The Dark Knight, The Dead Zone, The Long Walk, The Running Man, The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, The Stand, Under the Dome, War of the Worlds

Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan Trailer

Posted on August 18, 2010 by The Filmsmith | 1 comment

imdb.com has the release date set for December 1, 2010.

And here I thought the film might be a bit boring from the synopsis and the trailer is more f*cked up than I could have imagined. Guess Aronofsky won’t break into the comedy genre anytime soon considering this path of trauma that is his filmography.*

*Comments aside, love his work.

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Tagged Black Swan, Cinema, Darren Aronofsky, Drama, Film, Horror, Mila Kunis, Movie, Natalie Portman, Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, The Wrestler, Trailer, Vincent Cassel

The Expendables: Full of action, yes. Worth $10, no.

Posted on August 15, 2010 by The Filmsmith | Leave a comment

It’s harder to find straight up action packed cinema these days, with more and more studios walking the PG-13 line for bigger box office figures. Notably, Bruce Willis couldn’t even say his catch phrase in Live Free or Die Hard because an F-bomb is an R-rated offense. In contrast, The Expendables is a violent swearing sailor that pisses drunkenly on these sad sods that call themselves “action films” – but that doesn’t make it the best. Continue reading →

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Tagged 80's, Action, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Dolph Lundgren, jet li, man on a mission, Mickey Rourke, Steve Austin, Sylvester Stallone, Terry Crews, The Expendables, violence