Monthly Archives: April 2011

About

Posted on April 17, 2011 by | 2 comments

What is The Filmsmith?
The Filmsmith aims to critically assess a broad spectrum of films, from what’s coming out this weekend to silent films of the 1920’s. We love cinema and aim to share that passion, whether by panning or praising a certain picture, discussing the production of a film, or even addressing other artistic mediums (video games, books, music) when it’s merited. Our writing should be intelligent and full of verve and wit.

When do we update?
For the forseeable future, we’ll update at least every Monday.  We may sometimes update more often, depending on our free time.  This is a shift away from our Monday, Wednesday, Friday posting schedule while Remington Smith finishes a film script he’s working on.

Creator/Editor/Writer: Remington Smith
I have been writing film reviews and essays since starting this site in 2009. I recently received a Master’s degree in Film Studies from the University of Edinburgh, and I’m pursuing an MFA in Film Production at the University of Iowa.  I have also worked as a projectionist, and I managed and programmed the University of Louisville’s Floyd Theatre for two years.  I have written, produced, and directed four short films, and my first feature-length film is in development.  You can get quick thoughts on film news and DVDs I’m watching by following me on Twitter here.

Writer: Ben Creech
I am a student at the University of Louisville, working towards a degree in Modern Cultural Studies, with a focus in Film, Literature and Popular Music. I began writing film-related essays and reviews during the winter of 2008. I work at an independent video store, Wild and Woolly, which gives me access to any number of films to sate my cinematic appetite; I love the French New Wave and the films of Martin Scorsese.

Contact: thefilmsmithpodcast@gmail.com

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Scream 4 a nearly justified sequel

Posted on April 15, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Fifteen years ago, the original Scream met with huge popularity for its comedic sensibilities and self-aware commentary on the slasher genre. Scream 4 comes eleven years after the previous installment in the franchise, and at first glance it reeks of Hollywood’s current plague, a madness for the re-make, sequel, prequel, and adaptation.  Yet the making of Scream 4 is better justified than expected – to the point that this sequel might surpass the original. Continue reading →

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“Rome” Album Pays Tribute to Italian Film Scores

Posted on April 14, 2011 by | Leave a comment

In the humble opinion of this reviewer, the greatest film composer of all time is Ennio Morricone. Famous for his genre -defining scores for Sergio Leone (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, and Once Upon a Time in the West), he has also created the profoundly beautiful scores for The Mission and Days of Heaven. He has collaborated with Samuel Fuller in White Dog and Brian de Palma in The Untouchables. His music is unforgettable and ubiquitous, and now Danger Mouse, one of the great musical voices of this generation is going to pay him tribute with his new album Rome. Continue reading →

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DVD Tuesday: White Material

Posted on April 12, 2011 by | Leave a comment

I went into this film very cautiously. Regrettably, I knew next to nothing about the French filmmaker who helmed White Material, save that her film from last year (35 Shots of Rum) was rumored to be better than this. When film friends and cohorts recommended it to me, I figured I would give it a shot on DVD, and I’m glad I did. Aside from the mesmerizing performances given by Bankole and Huppert, this film is made with such energy and vision that my hesitation in viewing it evaporated within the first few seconds. Not only is seeing this film a worthwhile experience, its poetic frenzy of sounds and images transforms its colonial themes into something much more universal. Continue reading →

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“The Steel Helmet” delivers punches on race and American identity

Posted on April 11, 2011 by | Leave a comment

Samuel Fuller is a forgotten auteur. He seldom makes an appearance on lists of the great American directors, yet he inspired countless careers (Martin Scorsese and Jean-Luc Godard, for starters) and made some of the grittiest, most profound films in American history. Like Walt Whitman before and Robert Altman after, Fuller sought to define a uniquely American form of expression. Film noir had a French name and German origins, Hitchcock and Chaplin came from Britain, Welles was cast out of Hollywood, and Fuller picked up the pieces to try and decipher the countless fragments of the American psyche. This led him to a central preoccupation throughout his career: the paradoxical presence of racism and freedom in the national identity of America. The Steel Helmet, his film set and shot during the Korean War, tries to resolve the problems of having an integrated army in a racist world. Continue reading →

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Your Highness unfortunately unfunny

Posted on April 9, 2011 by | 2 comments

Your Highness in a nutshell: It’s like a 13 year-old boy wrote a script because he thought: “Wouldn’t it be funny if there was a Medieval-themed fantasy film with swearing and jokes about blowjobs?!”  You’ll chuckle the first few times they do this, but the novelty wears thin quickly. Continue reading →

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Hanna an instant action classic

Posted on April 8, 2011 by | 3 comments

Once upon a time in the snowy forests of Finland, there was a girl named Hanna who knew only her father, his training, and their simple cottage.  When she came of age, Hanna decided it was time for her to see the outside world.  Hanna sees Morocco, makes her first friend, and packs the morgue with baddie bodies. Continue reading →

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X-Men: First Class fan-made credit sequence classy and graphic

Posted on April 7, 2011 by | 2 comments

The art of a credit sequence is probably one you haven’t thought of unless you’re watching the latest Bond film.  This fan-made opening credit sequence for the upcoming X-Men: First Class demonstrates how graphic design can set the mood for a film – in this instance by channelling the film’s 1960’s setting with bold outlines of various X-Men and the images of the era’s most prolific personalities.  Even if you have no interest in the latest X-Men film, this is quite cool. Continue reading →

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“No Time for Sentiment” in Night of the Living Dead

Posted on April 6, 2011 by | 1 comment

In Tom Ford’s 2009 film A Single Man, protagonist George Falconer is briefly accosted by a colleague who insists that he prepare for imminent nuclear attack. They live in the mid-1960’s and the threat of mutually assured destruction hangs over them constantly. So much so that this colleague has constructed a bunker as Nemo constructed the Nautilus–piecewise, so that none of the contractors would know all of its specifics. His paranoid attempt to win George over includes the line, “There will be no time for sentiment when the Russians fire a missile at us.” George responds, “If it’s going to be a world with no time for sentiment, Grant, it’s not a world that I want to live in.” It is a world with no time for sentiment that George A. Romero is discussing in his landmark horror film Night of the Living Dead. Continue reading →

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DVD Tuesday: I Love You Phillip Morris

Posted on April 5, 2011 by | Leave a comment

I Love You Phillip Morris was destined to be the cult movie of the year. Written and directed by cult veterans Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (Bad Santa), and starring the always zany Jim Carrey, there seemed to be little to prevent this film from skyrocketing into a sleeper hit. Add to all of this that the MPAA didn’t know what to do about the homosexuality in the film and that it endured an 8-month delay and burgeoning controversy, it seemed a shoo-in for a number of award ceremonies. So what stopped it from achieving a meteoric rise? It was just alright. Not good, not bad, just…ok. And this, it seems is the nail in the coffin for any forgettable film.  Continue reading →

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