Author Archives: The Filmsmith

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

Posted on April 11, 2011 | 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 →

Your Highness unfortunately unfunny

Posted on April 9, 2011 | 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 →

2 Comments

Posted in Reviews

Tagged Comedy, Fantasy, James Franco, Natalie Portman, Your Highness

Hanna an instant action classic

Posted on April 8, 2011 | 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 →

3 Comments

Posted in Filmsmith Faves, Reviews

Tagged Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana, Hanna, Joe Wright, Saoirse Ronan, The Chemical Brothers

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

Posted on April 7, 2011 | 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 →

2 Comments

Posted in Filmmaking, News

Tagged Filmmaking, opening credits, X-Men: First Class

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

Posted on April 6, 2011 | 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 →

1 Comment

Posted in Articles

Tagged A Single Man, McCarthyism, Night of the Living Dead, Nuclear bombs, Romero

DVD Tuesday: I Love You Phillip Morris

Posted on April 5, 2011 | 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 →

Source Code’s Ending: Bitter Pill?

Posted on April 1, 2011 | 22 comments

MAJOR SPOILERS, SEE FILM FIRST

At the end of the film, Colter Stevens has been transported to the train, where he finally averts the explosion and then stays in the body of Sean Fentress. It appears this is possible because he isn’t killed as Sean, so he isn’t snapped back to his body. If he had failed, he would be dead for good since Goodwin pulls the plug on his body.

But what about the real Sean Fentress? Since the Source Code machine is thought to just tap into the memory of someone already dead, there’s not a lot of moral consideration for Fentress considering the mission (which is also Stevens’ situation). But since Sean Fentress doesn’t die on the train due to Stevens’ intervention, what happens to his consciousness? Continue reading →

22 Comments

Posted in Articles

Tagged Ending of Source Code, Jake Gyllenhaal, Source Code

Source Code a genuine sci-fi thriller

Posted on April 1, 2011 | 1 comment

Nicolas Cage picks projects that can be hit or miss (Bringing Out the Dead vs Bangkok Dangerous); Jake Gyllenhaal seems to follow a similar pattern of doing the safe film, then the artistic one ( Prince of Persia vs Donnie Darko). Thankfully Source Code, Gyllenhaal’s latest, is a taut sci-fi thriller worth seeing. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Reviews

Tagged Duncan Jones, Jake Gyllenhaal, Moon, Sci-Fi, Source Code

DVD Tuesday: Made in Dagenham

Posted on March 29, 2011 | 1 comment

In 2008, Sally Hawkins proved herself to be a strong actress with her daring performance in Mike Leigh’s Happy-Go-Lucky. She has appeared in various small, but important, roles since then–none of which have allowed her the space to achieve a similar performance. While she doesn’t quite reach the standard set three years ago, her newest starring role is really something to behold. Made in Dagenham is something of a return to form for Hawkins, and a reassuring promise that great things are yet to come. Continue reading →

1 Comment

Posted in Reviews

Tagged Made in Dagenham, Sally Hawkins, Union

Rango an animated comedy western – for adults

Posted on March 27, 2011 | 1 comment

As I entered screen number 13 for Rango, I noticed the plethora of chattering children. And when the trailers flashed one animated film after another, vying for the audience’s adoration with cheap laughs and the presentation of cute characters of varying formations (bunnies, birds, and bears), people chuckled and “Awww-ed” right where the marketing teams wanted. Then Rango started up and this 24-year-old man laughed his way through the picture while children sat in silence and parents thought, “What the f*ck did I bring my offspring to?” Continue reading →