After many years of leaving us to wallow in superhero films, James Cameron has returned with one of the most hyped films…well since Transformers 2.
After seeing trailers, stills, some clips and words from the director himself, you might be concerned that it might just be another bloated CGI wankfest ready to pick up the quick cash during the opening weekend and make way for the DVD. Sure, Avatar does business just like the others, but it’s not as bad as Wolverine…but that’s not saying much.
Tagged Avatar, Film, Ideology, James Cameron, Movie, Na'vi, Racism, Review, Sam Worthington, Terminator 2
So my friends, I have now seen Tarantino’s latest film twice, in the United States, and here in Scotland.
Now, if you have not read it yet, I would like to direct you to Ben Creech’s analysis of the film. His words do a better job than mine:
http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=ben+creech&init=quick#/note.php?note_id=125778207609&ref=mf
The quick review is that the film is better than “Kill Bill” but still not able to eclipse the elephant in the room that is his best film, “Pulp Fiction.” So go see it.
But to get to business:
As I stated, I’ve seen the film twice now in two different countries. Each screening, however was a different experience. Continue reading
Posted in Articles
Tagged Aldo Raine, Brad Pitt, Edinburgh, Inglourious Basterds, Kentucky, Louisville, Quentin Tarantino
A lot has been made of this film, as it’s Judd Apatow’s third film, following his successes with 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, and there’s a lot worth praising. As usual with his work the film walks a fine line between being a comedy or a drama, leaning more for the emotional punches that just happen to be funny. Continue reading
Posted in Reviews
Tagged Adam Sandler, Cinema, Comedy, Drama, Film, Funny People, Judd Apatow, Movie, Movies, Seth Rogen
We are a rather fortunate bunch. Our grandparents only had two chances to see a film: either when it came out in theatres or if it popped up on television, which is what made the annual television screenings of The Wizard of Oz such a big deal. It was not until VHS revolutionized the industry and films could be watched whenever we desired. Combine this with the communication powers of the internet and a film that never got past screenings in New York can suddenly make a ton of cash and notoriety.
With such fortunes, I find it our job as film enthusiasts to promote our favorite smaller films as a counter-weight to the advertising juggernauts that rumble across our cultural plains. Continue reading
Posted in Filmsmith Faves, Lists
Tagged A Scanner Darkly, Aliens, Brick, Children of Men, Christian Bale, Cinema, Film, Forest Whitaker, Ghost Dog, Hagakure, Half Nelson, Independent, Indie, Kevin Kostner, Leon, List, Movies, Mr Brooks, Ryan Gosling, Terry Gilliam, The Descent, The Fountain, The Machinist, The professional, Tideland, Wizard of Oz
I’ve been thinking over the summer films that have hit cinemas so far and have only been disappointed with the rundown (except for Star Trek, that wasn’t too bad):
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
crap, but expected to be
Terminator Salvation
disappointingly crappy
Public Enemies
Though a non-mega budget/hyped film, this one suffered due to a lack of supporting story elements that would actually make you care about the character and the type of technical issues you’d expect from a student film, not a 100 million dollar feature starring Johnny Depp.
So I got to thinking about the major issues with the Summer Blockbuster Genre that has emerged, and how The Dark Knight managed to be one without being shit. Maybe Hollywood will keep these things in mind for next summer. Continue reading
Posted in Articles
Teaser poster for Pontypool.
Since George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, all of the great zombie films have provided us an undead lens through which a facet of human civilization is focused upon: Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead tackled race and conspicuous consumption, respectively; Danny Boyle used our fear of disease to look into the heart of man in 28 Days Later, only to find the “Rage Virus” within all of us. Pontypool continues in this vein as the best zombie* film since Boyle’s resurrection of the genre, utilizing the fear of the unknown to look at the power of language. Continue reading
Posted in Edinburgh International Film Festival, Filmsmith Faves, Reviews
Tagged 28 Days Later, Bruce McDonald, Cinema, Danny Boyle, Dawn of the Living Dead, Disease, Film, George A. Romero, Horror, Language, Movies, Night of the Living Dead, Pontypool, Pontypool Changes Everything, Romero, Stephen McHattie, The Tracey Fragments, Tony Burgess, Virus, Zombies
Poster for Dario Argento's latest film, Giallo
Dario argento has been playing the horror game for several decades, known by fans for his penchant for gore and his cult classic Suspiria. Argento pictures come with expectations.
The basic expectation of any director with the degrees of power and prestige afforded by such an audience following is that subsequent films will not be crap. Argento’s latest, Giallo, doesn’t succeed at being a serial-killer thriller, but earns watchability points for its campiness. Continue reading
Here is the conversation that took place with the filmmakers after the premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival:
Part 1
Continue reading
With this intriguing trailer, a score by Clint Mansell (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain), and Sam Rockwell starring as technician Sam Bell, I will admit to having some expectations. I would also say that most people intrigued by this film are going to be sci-fi nerds familiar with notable scif-fi movies.
Therein lies the problem with Moon: if you’ve seen Blade Runner, you’re just getting a rehash. Yes, the set design and CGI are great, especially when find out they did with a 5 million dollar budget. Clint Mansell’s score adds depth, tension, and excitement. Sam Rockwell playing two different characters: wonderful, he does a great job.
However the story falls flat after the first twenty minutes as you then predict the entire plot of the film and it doesn’t help that they reveal a major plot point in the trailer.
SPOILER ALERT (scroll down till you hit SPOILER ALERT OVER to read the conclusion)
Because after I saw the trailer I immediately predicted the film’s twists based on my knowledge of Blade Runner: Rockwell plays a clone created by a mining corporation who have implanted false memories of a life he’s never lived. The film further rides the Blade Runner band wagon when Sam looks sickly and starts coughing up blood… Surprise, surprise, the clones have a shelf life of three years!
The only part of the film in which you benefit from seeing previous sci-fi films is the send up to 2001: A Space Odyssey. During the film you wonder if the Kevin Spacey robot, Gerty, is going to be another whacked out HAL 9000: is he trying to hide the truth from Sam? Will he kill him for knowing too much? The filmmakers play with this expectation and is an upside for the film’s story. Since it is not the focus though, it still can’t make up for the Blade Runner fleecing.
And on a final spoiler note, the ending felt weak: as Sam Bell (at least one of them) is re-entering Earth’s atmosphere we hear radio broadcasts of his story being told.
One, the audience doesn’t really need to know if he got to Earth safely to feel good about the film. The fact that he escaped the Moon base at all is the payoff: he got free and there’s hope. So to clarify the point, and to do so with such casual briefness felt like both a disservice to the audience and the character.
SPOILER ALERT OVER
If you’re just getting into sci-fi movies, this is a great introduction. I will admit, even if you’re a veteran, it isn’t necessarily horrible either, as I mentioned the acting and technical achievements are evident. Just don’t expect any surprises.
I looked for a Moon poster and this was all I got. :shudder:
Posted in Edinburgh International Film Festival, Reviews
Tagged Blade Runner, Duncan Jones, Moon, Review, Sci-Fi
The Filmsmith
The Filmsmith 
Darren Aronofsky: In Person
Darren Aronofsky (<em>left</em>) and the Unknown Interview Lady (<em>right</em>).
As was the same with the Sam Mendes talk: I was able to get a last minute ticket for the Darren Aronofsky event that had been sold out. I secured a front seat and the following video footage below. I did not have enough memory on my camera to cover the entire talk, so the rest is dictated word for word from my old school tape recorder (I really need to buy a digital one…).
Worth highlighting are his thoughts on 3D, music from his films cropping up in shitty trailers and sports events, and why some people hate The Fountain towards the end of Part 6. Please leave your thoughts at the bottom.
Continue reading →
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Posted in Edinburgh International Film Festival, Filmmaking, Interviews
Tagged 3D, Batman, Cinema, Clint Mansell, Darren Aronofsky, Edinburgh International Film Festival, EIFF, Filmmaking, Frank Miller, Hubert Selby Jr., Mickey Rourke, Movies, Pi, Requiem for a Dream, Robocop, Steroids, The Fountain, The Wrestler