Tales of The Rocket City Rescue Rangers: Volume II from Daniel Alexander on Vimeo.
the return of The RCRR.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
EPISODE I: THE FIRST ACT
The Last Actor: Episode I: The First Act from Daniel Alexander on Vimeo.
Senior thesis project of Dan Stebbins and Greg Gaskins at The Rochester Institute of Technology School of Film and Animation.
The pilot episode of a comedy web series taking place a few years in the near future where CG Animation has become photo-realistic.
Shot mostly in Rochester, NY. Shot mostly on Kodak 16mm Film.
Written and Directed by Daniel Alexander Stebbins
Editing and Compositing by Greg Gaskins
Cinematography by Drew Ganyer
Produced by Lindsey Timko
Monday, November 8, 2010
NYC Marathon
Was down in NYC over the weekend and saw 43,000 people run down the road. Was at the 9mile marker in Brooklyn.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The Island of Rhodes
So for the past three weeks I've been in our nations smallest state crewing on a feature. Here are some pics...
Saturday, October 16, 2010
SportsZone: Do Stuff 4 Stuff Challenge
Check out this super segment for SportsZone last year about the Ultimate Do Stuff 4 Stuff Challenge at RIT. I shot the confessional interviews.
SportsZone: Do Stuff 4 Stuff Challenge from Justin Cady on Vimeo.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The Last Actor: Hamilton Street Riot
Hamilton Street Riot from Daniel Alexander on Vimeo.
For the intro sequence of my thesis The Last Actor we shot a riot out in front of my house.
This is the only take we did because we broke most of the props and people were pretty tired and bruised afterwards. Plus we had to rush to get back to campus to meet the bus for our Hockey team the RIT Tigers which made it to the Frozen Four for the first time.
Had tremendous fun filming it.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Review: Hard Boiled
Finally watched this 1992 Hong Kong action film by John Woo last night. John Woo is a maestro of mayhem and it shows to full effect and then some in Hard Boiled. Known by many people as one of the best action films ever made I can assure you that I am now among that collective. The film stars two of Hong Kong's biggest superstars; Chow Yun Fat who's been in Pirates 3 and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Tony Leung Chiu Wai who was in the Infernal Affairs trilogy which inspired The Departed.
The story takes place in Hong Kong in the early 90's, and what does that mean? The mutha fuckin Triads are out running the streets that's what, and they be up to no good shenanigans of course. These Triads are especially nasty weapons smugglers who just don't give a fart and will kill anyone in their way innocent or not. Hot on their tail from killing his partner in the first scene is clarinet playing police Officer "Tequila" Yuen played by Chow Yun-Fat. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai plays the other main character Alan who is an undercover cop deep within the Triad gang Tequila is tracking down. Thus....complications/oodles of bullets and explosions.
The two hours of havoc that unfolds on screen is some of the best captured on celluloid. With a body count of 307 I'm pretty positive more bullets were fired here than in Operation Desert Storm. What really ups the ante in the shootout scenes is the acrobatics by the main characters who are constantly jumping, sliding, ducking, weaving, dodging, and maneuvering through the given location. The physical locations are used like jungle gyms. It's over the top but in a realistic "people could actually do this shit" kind of way. There aren't matrix style stuff or even some of the extreme things Jackie Chan has been known to do. The level of reality to the stunts was kept consistent throughout which kept the film grounded and the suspension of disbelief not far to hold on to. I really enjoy this level of stunt work as a early twenty something viewer cuz in my mind I'm like "yeah, I could totally do that if I was in that situation, jump over that bar, shoot around the corner then run and slide across the floor while dual wielding shooting two dudes in opposite directions, totally, yeah!".
The other high point represented by the action is the beautiful use of practical effects; fiery explosions, squibs, gun shots and breaking glass. Everything used here looks a million times better than the CGI-filled action extravaganzas of today (lookin at you Stallone). The stuff that goes down is really a sight to be seen as it really is incredible how they filmed it. Numerous times actors are inches away from the fire of explosions or in many cases hit by the shrapnel of exploding walls and set pieces. The infamous hospital hallway shot is just fantastic. It's a 3 and a half minute single take of our two hero's blasting bad guys and dodging live explosions the whole way and interrupted in the middle by a clever elevator ride. The sense of danger is thick and tangible from the beginning tea house shoot out to the chaotic climax at the hospital.
Beyond all the action there are actually characters and pretty decent ones to boot. Both Tequila and Alan are quite charismatic and interesting to watch especially together. It's fun to watch Tequila go from thinking he's one of the bad guys, to being totally confused to eventually trusting him and working together. The supporting cast are all cop movie archetypes that transcend cultures and time. The mob boss who doesn't give a fuck, the hard ass police chief, and the innocent girl friend who wants her cop boy friend to settle down and retire from all the danger. They do their job fine and don't detract from the action and story. The only character I had a major problem with was the Bartender played by the Director John Woo. It was a lame attempt at putting in some philosophy and getting Tequila to talk about his feelings. I've grown to dislike the use of directors in cameo roles more and more in films, especially like here when they are the "voice of reason" or explain some essential aspect to the plot (also looking at you Shamylamy). I know you want to be "involved in the whole process of filmmaking" or whatever but common, just cast someone else. It's pretty simple, craigslist it if you need to. (Yes I admit I'm being hypocritical since I acted in my last film but that is something I'm definitely not going to do for a long time.)
Is this all gratuitous violence you ask? Maybe, maybe not. I've never been to Hong Kong though its on my list of places to go (very gorgeous setting with the glass towers next to the mountains surrounded by the sea, kind of like an Asian Rio de Janeiro...but i digress). This could very well be a true to life depiction of how conflicts roll over there between the Police and Triad. Why else would everyone learn martial arts? Tis a dangerous place and the only logical explanation. But beyond my silliness is all the violence in this film for the sake of being violent? Well lets just take into fact the incredibly high body count of 307. Now that's 307 confirmed kills from the good people over at Movie Body Counts dot com. In order to make it to that list you gotta be confirmed to be waiting for your toe tag not just a punch in the face. Thus many more people simply come away with flesh wounds and broken arms and such leading to about 200 more or so. One might say this is quite a lot, and that one would be perfectly justifiable in saying that but the point I'm trying to make is that Hong Kong had a population of 5.8 million people at the time of 1992 and one of the largest networks of gangs if not the highest at that particular time in the entire world THUS there would be A LOT of people involved in any big conflict between cops and the Triad. If this movie was set in backwoods Wyoming yeah it would be ridiculous, but here in Hong Kong it makes sense. Nevertheless is this gratuitous though? Without a doubt. Did all these people have to get mowed down in this film? No of course not. But with that, it would have been a very different film. I was going to say boring but retracted because with the same story with the two cops, one seeking revenge and the other deep undercover they could have crafted a nice little tale with lots of intricate tension. The bottom line is this film knows what it is and does gratuitous action and violence the best I've ever seen and asks for no apologies. It is what it is. And it is awesome.
I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of action films and over the top cinema. Definitely do not watch if you dislike violence/blood/subtitles.
The story takes place in Hong Kong in the early 90's, and what does that mean? The mutha fuckin Triads are out running the streets that's what, and they be up to no good shenanigans of course. These Triads are especially nasty weapons smugglers who just don't give a fart and will kill anyone in their way innocent or not. Hot on their tail from killing his partner in the first scene is clarinet playing police Officer "Tequila" Yuen played by Chow Yun-Fat. Tony Leung Chiu-Wai plays the other main character Alan who is an undercover cop deep within the Triad gang Tequila is tracking down. Thus....complications/oodles of bullets and explosions.
The two hours of havoc that unfolds on screen is some of the best captured on celluloid. With a body count of 307 I'm pretty positive more bullets were fired here than in Operation Desert Storm. What really ups the ante in the shootout scenes is the acrobatics by the main characters who are constantly jumping, sliding, ducking, weaving, dodging, and maneuvering through the given location. The physical locations are used like jungle gyms. It's over the top but in a realistic "people could actually do this shit" kind of way. There aren't matrix style stuff or even some of the extreme things Jackie Chan has been known to do. The level of reality to the stunts was kept consistent throughout which kept the film grounded and the suspension of disbelief not far to hold on to. I really enjoy this level of stunt work as a early twenty something viewer cuz in my mind I'm like "yeah, I could totally do that if I was in that situation, jump over that bar, shoot around the corner then run and slide across the floor while dual wielding shooting two dudes in opposite directions, totally, yeah!".
The other high point represented by the action is the beautiful use of practical effects; fiery explosions, squibs, gun shots and breaking glass. Everything used here looks a million times better than the CGI-filled action extravaganzas of today (lookin at you Stallone). The stuff that goes down is really a sight to be seen as it really is incredible how they filmed it. Numerous times actors are inches away from the fire of explosions or in many cases hit by the shrapnel of exploding walls and set pieces. The infamous hospital hallway shot is just fantastic. It's a 3 and a half minute single take of our two hero's blasting bad guys and dodging live explosions the whole way and interrupted in the middle by a clever elevator ride. The sense of danger is thick and tangible from the beginning tea house shoot out to the chaotic climax at the hospital.
Beyond all the action there are actually characters and pretty decent ones to boot. Both Tequila and Alan are quite charismatic and interesting to watch especially together. It's fun to watch Tequila go from thinking he's one of the bad guys, to being totally confused to eventually trusting him and working together. The supporting cast are all cop movie archetypes that transcend cultures and time. The mob boss who doesn't give a fuck, the hard ass police chief, and the innocent girl friend who wants her cop boy friend to settle down and retire from all the danger. They do their job fine and don't detract from the action and story. The only character I had a major problem with was the Bartender played by the Director John Woo. It was a lame attempt at putting in some philosophy and getting Tequila to talk about his feelings. I've grown to dislike the use of directors in cameo roles more and more in films, especially like here when they are the "voice of reason" or explain some essential aspect to the plot (also looking at you Shamylamy). I know you want to be "involved in the whole process of filmmaking" or whatever but common, just cast someone else. It's pretty simple, craigslist it if you need to. (Yes I admit I'm being hypocritical since I acted in my last film but that is something I'm definitely not going to do for a long time.)
Is this all gratuitous violence you ask? Maybe, maybe not. I've never been to Hong Kong though its on my list of places to go (very gorgeous setting with the glass towers next to the mountains surrounded by the sea, kind of like an Asian Rio de Janeiro...but i digress). This could very well be a true to life depiction of how conflicts roll over there between the Police and Triad. Why else would everyone learn martial arts? Tis a dangerous place and the only logical explanation. But beyond my silliness is all the violence in this film for the sake of being violent? Well lets just take into fact the incredibly high body count of 307. Now that's 307 confirmed kills from the good people over at Movie Body Counts dot com. In order to make it to that list you gotta be confirmed to be waiting for your toe tag not just a punch in the face. Thus many more people simply come away with flesh wounds and broken arms and such leading to about 200 more or so. One might say this is quite a lot, and that one would be perfectly justifiable in saying that but the point I'm trying to make is that Hong Kong had a population of 5.8 million people at the time of 1992 and one of the largest networks of gangs if not the highest at that particular time in the entire world THUS there would be A LOT of people involved in any big conflict between cops and the Triad. If this movie was set in backwoods Wyoming yeah it would be ridiculous, but here in Hong Kong it makes sense. Nevertheless is this gratuitous though? Without a doubt. Did all these people have to get mowed down in this film? No of course not. But with that, it would have been a very different film. I was going to say boring but retracted because with the same story with the two cops, one seeking revenge and the other deep undercover they could have crafted a nice little tale with lots of intricate tension. The bottom line is this film knows what it is and does gratuitous action and violence the best I've ever seen and asks for no apologies. It is what it is. And it is awesome.
I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of action films and over the top cinema. Definitely do not watch if you dislike violence/blood/subtitles.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Review: Flash Point (Dau Fo Sin)
Watched the Hong Kong martial arts film Flash Point today on Netflix instant watch. It stars Donnie Yen who's a super star in China for acting and stunt choreographing a slew of martial arts films as well as directing a hand full of them. The film takes place in Hong Kong during 1997 thus right before the handover to mainland China from British Authorities. If you were sleeping in History class this was a pretty big deal. What's important to note is that during this time there were a whole bunch of gangs doing gang things around Hong Kong. Keeping tried and true to the super cop genre of martial arts film our hero played by Donnie Yen is out to take down the bad guys while saving his partner in the process.
Here is the Americanized trailer with a really cheezey voice over:
Looks pretty sweet huh? Well ladies and gentlemen that would be the magic of movie trailers. Cut all the good stuff into a minute and a half. Nothing too cutting edge here. But lets break it down:
The Good: The highlight of this film is the seriously awesome fights. The choreography is the best you will see anywhere. As you can see in the trailer there are shots where Donnie really does punch dudes full contact in the face. Was that a camera trick or did he really just do that? I'm pretty sure he really did just do that, and that's what makes these fights sweet. I really enjoyed the realism conveyed instead of going the tired wire-fu route. When someone gets hit, you feel it. What's different about this martial arts films fights is the implementation of mixed martial arts by our hero. Here we see him fighting with elements of Judo, Jujitsu, Karate, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, Wushu, and Taekwondo. This creates some fresh fights to those who may be tired of the same old same old. The 8 min final fight between Donnie and Collin Chou is brutal as hell and well worth checking out by itself. It's on YouTube under a couple different things I saw but both had crappy Nu Metal overlayed on it and crappy video quality.
The Bad: I sometimes find that foreign films can hide their bad acting through me just not being able to understand what they are saying. Here is not the case at all. How all of the characters deliver their dialog is pure cheese whiz. I don't know if it was just a bad translation for the subtitles but what they were actually saying was wicked lame. The story is silly and hard to follow for the first hour. Even beyond the cliche story and bad acting is that the fights are few and far between. All the good parts are crammed into the trailer. The rest is pretty boring.
I only recommend this to people who enjoy martial arts films. Other than the fights it has nothing cool/interesting/cinematically noteworthy to offer. Check it out on Netflix instant watch and just fast forward to them.
Here is the Americanized trailer with a really cheezey voice over:
Looks pretty sweet huh? Well ladies and gentlemen that would be the magic of movie trailers. Cut all the good stuff into a minute and a half. Nothing too cutting edge here. But lets break it down:
The Good: The highlight of this film is the seriously awesome fights. The choreography is the best you will see anywhere. As you can see in the trailer there are shots where Donnie really does punch dudes full contact in the face. Was that a camera trick or did he really just do that? I'm pretty sure he really did just do that, and that's what makes these fights sweet. I really enjoyed the realism conveyed instead of going the tired wire-fu route. When someone gets hit, you feel it. What's different about this martial arts films fights is the implementation of mixed martial arts by our hero. Here we see him fighting with elements of Judo, Jujitsu, Karate, boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, Wushu, and Taekwondo. This creates some fresh fights to those who may be tired of the same old same old. The 8 min final fight between Donnie and Collin Chou is brutal as hell and well worth checking out by itself. It's on YouTube under a couple different things I saw but both had crappy Nu Metal overlayed on it and crappy video quality.
The Bad: I sometimes find that foreign films can hide their bad acting through me just not being able to understand what they are saying. Here is not the case at all. How all of the characters deliver their dialog is pure cheese whiz. I don't know if it was just a bad translation for the subtitles but what they were actually saying was wicked lame. The story is silly and hard to follow for the first hour. Even beyond the cliche story and bad acting is that the fights are few and far between. All the good parts are crammed into the trailer. The rest is pretty boring.
I only recommend this to people who enjoy martial arts films. Other than the fights it has nothing cool/interesting/cinematically noteworthy to offer. Check it out on Netflix instant watch and just fast forward to them.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Genre Shorts on Vimeo
Inspired by Piranha 3D I made a new "Channel" on Vimeo to showcase short films in the horror, sci-fi, fantasy and action genres. It's called "Genre Shorts".
There were some other channels and groups that dealt exclusivly with sci-fi or horror but I want this one to really be open to anything heavily influenced by one genre or the other, or a mixture of any of them. If you have any films yourself or find any while browsing vimeo put a comment in the shoutbox and i'll put them on. vimeo.com/channels/genreshorts
There were some other channels and groups that dealt exclusivly with sci-fi or horror but I want this one to really be open to anything heavily influenced by one genre or the other, or a mixture of any of them. If you have any films yourself or find any while browsing vimeo put a comment in the shoutbox and i'll put them on. vimeo.com/channels/genreshorts
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Review: Piranha 3D
Went and saw Piranha 3D yesterday afternoon high on junior mints and sour patch kids.
The film is directed by my favorite modern horror director Alexandre Aja. If you haven't seen his film High Tension stop reading this review and go see it. Its so intense and well shot, superb horror. The film stars Marty McFly's girlfriend, Tom Cruises black friend, some kid, Will Ferrell's mean brother Derek, Matt Hooper, a pornstar, and mutha fuckin Doc Brown!
What a movie this was. As stated in interviews with Aja during the films development and leading up to its release he wanted to make a film he would want to see as a 13 year old kid. The kind of movie you're parents wouldn't want you to see. The kind of movie you would have to sneak into the theatre or get your older sibling to buy you tickets to see. The kind of movie you rent from the video store and watch with all your friends on a Saturday night. And by god he did exactly that. I remember as a kid and early teen my favorite movies to rent were horror and creature features, Friday the 13th, Children of the Corn and other movies based on Stephen King, Carnasaur (hell yeah bitches!), The Birds, Aliens, Arachnophobia, and of course the Baconfest Tremors. That was my bread and butter. People getting eaten by animals is just entertaining. I really can't explain it. It just is. I still like watching all the SyFy original movies in the genre. Just watched Lake Placid 3 the other night, absolutely terrible yes, but still entertaining enough. Now we have Piranha 3D which stays true to all the cliche's of the creature feature genre with great talent behind and in front of the camera. What does that make? A bloody fun ride that's what.
The film starts out with a fantastic cameo by Richard Dreyfus playing the same role he did in Jaws. Minding his own business and fishing out in the middle of the lake a tremor occurs and breaks open a gap at the bottom of the lake. What comes out of that gap you ask? Sharks? No. Octopuses? No. Sharktopuses? No. Piranhas, and lot's of them. You can guess what happens to our old fisherman. It rhymes with "sweeten arrive". We are then introduced to our main characters, Elisabeth Shue as the tough Sheriff of the Lake Town Julie Forester, her son Jake the 17 year old kid trying to get the girl Kelly who has the overbearing jock boyfriend, and Jerry O'Connell as the Girls Gone Wild inspired entrepreneur Derrick Jones of Wild Wild Girls along with his posse of scantily clad ladies. We see that it's spring break in our little lake side town and shit is going crazy, lots of college kids here to party. The lake is littered with boats as it looks like one of those floating trash islands but only with 100,000 thousand dollar speed boats and bikinis. Sheriff Julie Forester tells her son Jake to stay away from the festivities as he must baby sit his two cute as a button precocious kid siblings all weekend because she'll be busy patrolling the college kids. Jake then encounters Jerry O'Connel and his ladies and is enlisted to be a location scout for his Wild Wild Girls movie. Guess what he chooses to do... Then of course the shit starts to hit the fan. And by shit I mean lots of Piranhas and lots of eating.
Sound familiar? Yeah of course, it's Jaws, but in a lake with Piranhas. The creature feature genre has tried and true elements that this film again adhere's to. Small town, big event, an over worried sheriff, teenagers who don't give a fuck, cute little kids, out of towner scientists, and something that wants to eat them all. These are just the basic ingredients. Sure all pizza's are essentially dough, sauce, cheese and toppings, but it's how you put them together and how you bake it is where the magic comes out. Here is where you have all those essential horror elements but constructed in a way that still keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. You know the rules of the game, and this film delivers and then some. What takes this film above you're general creature features and made for SyFy movies is that you can see the love and work put into it, and the tone is spot on where everyone is having fun with the genre expectations.
The gore displayed on screen here ridiculous and gnarly. Viewer be seriously warned. Definitely NOT for the kids. Definitely NOT for the squeamish. The 3D is used well to display the schlock onscreen very similarly to My Bloody Valentine 3D. It's not trying to be an "immersing experience" to draw you into the story. It's exploitation through and throughout and having a blast with the medium.
It's a sad day in America when you see a rated R horror film today that does not have any nudity. The recent Friday the 13th remake had a decent amount which was one of the only good things going for it. This film more than makes up for all the wussy horror films of the past decade. There is an nude underwater ballet sequence between the gorgeous English model Kelly Brook and American adult film star Riley Steele that is well worth the price of admission for any male or lesbian or anyone who really just appreciates good underwater cinematography.
Really this is only enjoyable on a "brain turned off" level. The main problem here is that the best characters are not the main ones. We have the two most engaging characters of the overacted soft core porn director Jerry O'Connel and his mysterious lady played by Kelly Brooke, and then the wonderful cameo's by Christopher Lloyd and Richard Dreyfuss. Adam Scots character of Novak is a pretty cool guy as a seismologist who was definitely underused. His delivery throughout brought a good "matter of fact"ness to the entire film. Our three leads of Jack, his mother, and Kelly are pretty boring and one note. It would have been nice to see some more range and depth with them. The other main problem I had with the film was the ending. It really just pissed me off. I won't spoil it, but it pretty much just ends the movie at the exact moment after Plot Point Two. Plus the ending shot is in all the TV spots so you see it coming. Stupid Stupid Stupid.
By far the best thing about this movie is seeing Christopher Lloyd on the big screen. It's really physically impossible not to smile as he delivers his lines during his couple scenes in this film. He's like you're favorite Uncle who's full of crazy stories and is a blast to listen to. Though I wish he was in the film a little more it was just cool as hell seeing him as a raving scientist. (fun fact: they are going to re-release Back to the Future in theatres this October for its 25th Anniversary!)
If you like creature features this is a must see. If you can't deal with boat loads of gore take a rain check. It's a bloody fun ride from beginning to end with some definite flaws. Go with some buddies and drink some beers before you go and you'll have a wicked swell time.
The film is directed by my favorite modern horror director Alexandre Aja. If you haven't seen his film High Tension stop reading this review and go see it. Its so intense and well shot, superb horror. The film stars Marty McFly's girlfriend, Tom Cruises black friend, some kid, Will Ferrell's mean brother Derek, Matt Hooper, a pornstar, and mutha fuckin Doc Brown!
What a movie this was. As stated in interviews with Aja during the films development and leading up to its release he wanted to make a film he would want to see as a 13 year old kid. The kind of movie you're parents wouldn't want you to see. The kind of movie you would have to sneak into the theatre or get your older sibling to buy you tickets to see. The kind of movie you rent from the video store and watch with all your friends on a Saturday night. And by god he did exactly that. I remember as a kid and early teen my favorite movies to rent were horror and creature features, Friday the 13th, Children of the Corn and other movies based on Stephen King, Carnasaur (hell yeah bitches!), The Birds, Aliens, Arachnophobia, and of course the Baconfest Tremors. That was my bread and butter. People getting eaten by animals is just entertaining. I really can't explain it. It just is. I still like watching all the SyFy original movies in the genre. Just watched Lake Placid 3 the other night, absolutely terrible yes, but still entertaining enough. Now we have Piranha 3D which stays true to all the cliche's of the creature feature genre with great talent behind and in front of the camera. What does that make? A bloody fun ride that's what.
The film starts out with a fantastic cameo by Richard Dreyfus playing the same role he did in Jaws. Minding his own business and fishing out in the middle of the lake a tremor occurs and breaks open a gap at the bottom of the lake. What comes out of that gap you ask? Sharks? No. Octopuses? No. Sharktopuses? No. Piranhas, and lot's of them. You can guess what happens to our old fisherman. It rhymes with "sweeten arrive". We are then introduced to our main characters, Elisabeth Shue as the tough Sheriff of the Lake Town Julie Forester, her son Jake the 17 year old kid trying to get the girl Kelly who has the overbearing jock boyfriend, and Jerry O'Connell as the Girls Gone Wild inspired entrepreneur Derrick Jones of Wild Wild Girls along with his posse of scantily clad ladies. We see that it's spring break in our little lake side town and shit is going crazy, lots of college kids here to party. The lake is littered with boats as it looks like one of those floating trash islands but only with 100,000 thousand dollar speed boats and bikinis. Sheriff Julie Forester tells her son Jake to stay away from the festivities as he must baby sit his two cute as a button precocious kid siblings all weekend because she'll be busy patrolling the college kids. Jake then encounters Jerry O'Connel and his ladies and is enlisted to be a location scout for his Wild Wild Girls movie. Guess what he chooses to do... Then of course the shit starts to hit the fan. And by shit I mean lots of Piranhas and lots of eating.
Sound familiar? Yeah of course, it's Jaws, but in a lake with Piranhas. The creature feature genre has tried and true elements that this film again adhere's to. Small town, big event, an over worried sheriff, teenagers who don't give a fuck, cute little kids, out of towner scientists, and something that wants to eat them all. These are just the basic ingredients. Sure all pizza's are essentially dough, sauce, cheese and toppings, but it's how you put them together and how you bake it is where the magic comes out. Here is where you have all those essential horror elements but constructed in a way that still keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time. You know the rules of the game, and this film delivers and then some. What takes this film above you're general creature features and made for SyFy movies is that you can see the love and work put into it, and the tone is spot on where everyone is having fun with the genre expectations.
The gore displayed on screen here ridiculous and gnarly. Viewer be seriously warned. Definitely NOT for the kids. Definitely NOT for the squeamish. The 3D is used well to display the schlock onscreen very similarly to My Bloody Valentine 3D. It's not trying to be an "immersing experience" to draw you into the story. It's exploitation through and throughout and having a blast with the medium.
It's a sad day in America when you see a rated R horror film today that does not have any nudity. The recent Friday the 13th remake had a decent amount which was one of the only good things going for it. This film more than makes up for all the wussy horror films of the past decade. There is an nude underwater ballet sequence between the gorgeous English model Kelly Brook and American adult film star Riley Steele that is well worth the price of admission for any male or lesbian or anyone who really just appreciates good underwater cinematography.
Really this is only enjoyable on a "brain turned off" level. The main problem here is that the best characters are not the main ones. We have the two most engaging characters of the overacted soft core porn director Jerry O'Connel and his mysterious lady played by Kelly Brooke, and then the wonderful cameo's by Christopher Lloyd and Richard Dreyfuss. Adam Scots character of Novak is a pretty cool guy as a seismologist who was definitely underused. His delivery throughout brought a good "matter of fact"ness to the entire film. Our three leads of Jack, his mother, and Kelly are pretty boring and one note. It would have been nice to see some more range and depth with them. The other main problem I had with the film was the ending. It really just pissed me off. I won't spoil it, but it pretty much just ends the movie at the exact moment after Plot Point Two. Plus the ending shot is in all the TV spots so you see it coming. Stupid Stupid Stupid.
By far the best thing about this movie is seeing Christopher Lloyd on the big screen. It's really physically impossible not to smile as he delivers his lines during his couple scenes in this film. He's like you're favorite Uncle who's full of crazy stories and is a blast to listen to. Though I wish he was in the film a little more it was just cool as hell seeing him as a raving scientist. (fun fact: they are going to re-release Back to the Future in theatres this October for its 25th Anniversary!)
If you like creature features this is a must see. If you can't deal with boat loads of gore take a rain check. It's a bloody fun ride from beginning to end with some definite flaws. Go with some buddies and drink some beers before you go and you'll have a wicked swell time.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Review: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
Saw Scott Pilgrim vs. The World last night second last night in my double feature theatre viewing. The film is directed by Edgar Wright who you may know from directing two most rad British films Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz. This film stars the skinny Superbad kid, John McClanes daughter, Superman, the Home Alone kids brother, and Max Fischer. If you don't get all these references, congratulations you are not a total film nerd and have a life.
The film follows the titular character of Scott Pilgrim, 22 year old bass player of three piece rock band Sex Bob-omb. He's you're average slacker who's between jobs and between girlfriends living in the frozen tundra of Toronto Canada. The story kicks off as he falls for the girl of his dreams, who in fact is the girl of his dreams, Romona Flowers and must defeat her Seven Evil Exes. He does this and learns some stuff too along the way in this highly kinetic coming of age story.
This movie freaking rocked. Here is everything that is awesome about in no particular order.
The Characters: A lot of people criticize Michael Cera for playing the same character in ever film. He's a 22 year old skinny white kid from Canada. What more do you want? The next team member of The Expendables? No. For better or worst he is essentially the face of a generation of shy awkward nerds across this land. But as Scott Pilgrim he really isn't that character. On the surface he looks at sounds the same as ever but most importantly he's not the same on the inside, he's not shy around girls, is proactive and can rock. Scott's love interests are played quite well by Ellen Wong who plays his initial 17 year old girl friend Knives Chau and Mary Elisabeth Winstead as the girl of his dreams Ramona Flowers. Both do a really good job at two completely different female characters. A big highlight of the film is the fantastic supporting cast. Some of the shining stars are Jason Schwartszman as the delightfully smarmy Gideon Gordon Graves, Kieren Culkin as Scott's sardonic roommate Wallace Wells, Aubrey Plaza as the "girl with issues" Julie Powers, Alison Pill as the deadpan drummer of Sex Bob-omb Kim Pine, Brandon Routh as the vegan bassist Todd Ingram, and honestly I could list everyone else in this cast as they all did a rocking job.
The Story: What really made this film work was that It would still be fully entertaining and interesting to watch all these characters in this story without all the fights. The fights are just icing on the cake, very excellent funfetti icing. The core of the film is about a guy falling in love and taking over whatever obstacles outward and inward which involve defeating Ramona's seven evil Exes in your typical progression into the ultimate boss fight at the end. It's really one of the oldest stories in the book: Boy Meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy must do "x" to attain girl. But what makes Scott Pilgrim special is the video game presentation of it all with the spot on characterization of today's youth and culture.
The Writing: Insanely quotable.
The Fights: This was a huge step in the right direction for fights on film. Some of the most pure fun fight scenes to watch in any film. They were vivid, excellently choreographed, and most importantly inventive. Too often you see the same old stuff over and over again, for a recent example The Expendables. Yes, they were well done and fun to watch. But really, how many different ways can you punch a dude. Well Dan you can punch a dude that's on fire. Yeah but what I'm trying to say is this film cranked it up to a level not scene before using heavy video game influences infused throughout. It reminds me of this Jim Jarmusch quote (well it's kinda a quote within a quote):
"...don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.”"
This really applies to everything about this film. It's a celebration of video games and garage band rock and roll. The other great thing about the fights in this film is that they are all different. It's similar to Bruce Lee's Game of Death and Tony Jaa's Tom Yung Goong where each of the hero's opponents throughout the film fight in a different style of martial arts. Here we have the Seven Evil Exes who are all have their different strengths and weaknesses. One of the most inventive fights is when Scott must defeat Ramona's only woman Ex. As like most guys he does not feel comfortable fighting a girl thus the fight that ensues is something truly original.
The Music: The soundtrack of both diegetic and non-diegetic songs are fantastic. What has the most resonance in my head and was the most enthralling to listen to was the songs played by Scott Pilgrim's band Sex Bob-omb. It was really cool and well done how the band performing was such an integral part of the story and Scott's development. The band even "battles" one of Ramona's Exes with its sound (you'll see) which was radtastic. Definitely see the film in a theatre with a good sound system. I didn't even find this out until after I saw the film but Beck wrote all the songs for Sex Bob-omb, so it's really no wonder why they are so awesome.
The Cinematography: Excellent job by Director of Photography Bill Pope who's known for such big films as The Matrix, Spider Man 2 and Team America: World Police. The world created for this film visually is really quite stunning.
The Editing: The transitions in this film are some of the best I've seen in any film. They move the film along at a really great pace. Some of the cuts were very jarring and totally disoriented me in time and space of the film, in a good way though as they drew me more into the world of the film.
The Directing: Simply put, Edgar Wright is the man. I have not read the graphic novel's by Bryan Lee O'Malley so cannot say if he did a good job adapting them or not. Nevertheless on a purely cinematic level this film worked on hyperdrive on all levels as described above. An amazing job from everyone on the film. High Fives to all.
I had an awesome time watching the film and am now very interested in checking out the graphic novels. If you have ever been in love, played video games, or like to rock and roll you'll love this film. This is a must see. It's amazing and by far my favorite film of the year.
The film follows the titular character of Scott Pilgrim, 22 year old bass player of three piece rock band Sex Bob-omb. He's you're average slacker who's between jobs and between girlfriends living in the frozen tundra of Toronto Canada. The story kicks off as he falls for the girl of his dreams, who in fact is the girl of his dreams, Romona Flowers and must defeat her Seven Evil Exes. He does this and learns some stuff too along the way in this highly kinetic coming of age story.
This movie freaking rocked. Here is everything that is awesome about in no particular order.
The Characters: A lot of people criticize Michael Cera for playing the same character in ever film. He's a 22 year old skinny white kid from Canada. What more do you want? The next team member of The Expendables? No. For better or worst he is essentially the face of a generation of shy awkward nerds across this land. But as Scott Pilgrim he really isn't that character. On the surface he looks at sounds the same as ever but most importantly he's not the same on the inside, he's not shy around girls, is proactive and can rock. Scott's love interests are played quite well by Ellen Wong who plays his initial 17 year old girl friend Knives Chau and Mary Elisabeth Winstead as the girl of his dreams Ramona Flowers. Both do a really good job at two completely different female characters. A big highlight of the film is the fantastic supporting cast. Some of the shining stars are Jason Schwartszman as the delightfully smarmy Gideon Gordon Graves, Kieren Culkin as Scott's sardonic roommate Wallace Wells, Aubrey Plaza as the "girl with issues" Julie Powers, Alison Pill as the deadpan drummer of Sex Bob-omb Kim Pine, Brandon Routh as the vegan bassist Todd Ingram, and honestly I could list everyone else in this cast as they all did a rocking job.
The Story: What really made this film work was that It would still be fully entertaining and interesting to watch all these characters in this story without all the fights. The fights are just icing on the cake, very excellent funfetti icing. The core of the film is about a guy falling in love and taking over whatever obstacles outward and inward which involve defeating Ramona's seven evil Exes in your typical progression into the ultimate boss fight at the end. It's really one of the oldest stories in the book: Boy Meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy must do "x" to attain girl. But what makes Scott Pilgrim special is the video game presentation of it all with the spot on characterization of today's youth and culture.
The Writing: Insanely quotable.
The Fights: This was a huge step in the right direction for fights on film. Some of the most pure fun fight scenes to watch in any film. They were vivid, excellently choreographed, and most importantly inventive. Too often you see the same old stuff over and over again, for a recent example The Expendables. Yes, they were well done and fun to watch. But really, how many different ways can you punch a dude. Well Dan you can punch a dude that's on fire. Yeah but what I'm trying to say is this film cranked it up to a level not scene before using heavy video game influences infused throughout. It reminds me of this Jim Jarmusch quote (well it's kinda a quote within a quote):
"...don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.”"
This really applies to everything about this film. It's a celebration of video games and garage band rock and roll. The other great thing about the fights in this film is that they are all different. It's similar to Bruce Lee's Game of Death and Tony Jaa's Tom Yung Goong where each of the hero's opponents throughout the film fight in a different style of martial arts. Here we have the Seven Evil Exes who are all have their different strengths and weaknesses. One of the most inventive fights is when Scott must defeat Ramona's only woman Ex. As like most guys he does not feel comfortable fighting a girl thus the fight that ensues is something truly original.
The Music: The soundtrack of both diegetic and non-diegetic songs are fantastic. What has the most resonance in my head and was the most enthralling to listen to was the songs played by Scott Pilgrim's band Sex Bob-omb. It was really cool and well done how the band performing was such an integral part of the story and Scott's development. The band even "battles" one of Ramona's Exes with its sound (you'll see) which was radtastic. Definitely see the film in a theatre with a good sound system. I didn't even find this out until after I saw the film but Beck wrote all the songs for Sex Bob-omb, so it's really no wonder why they are so awesome.
The Cinematography: Excellent job by Director of Photography Bill Pope who's known for such big films as The Matrix, Spider Man 2 and Team America: World Police. The world created for this film visually is really quite stunning.
The Editing: The transitions in this film are some of the best I've seen in any film. They move the film along at a really great pace. Some of the cuts were very jarring and totally disoriented me in time and space of the film, in a good way though as they drew me more into the world of the film.
The Directing: Simply put, Edgar Wright is the man. I have not read the graphic novel's by Bryan Lee O'Malley so cannot say if he did a good job adapting them or not. Nevertheless on a purely cinematic level this film worked on hyperdrive on all levels as described above. An amazing job from everyone on the film. High Fives to all.
I had an awesome time watching the film and am now very interested in checking out the graphic novels. If you have ever been in love, played video games, or like to rock and roll you'll love this film. This is a must see. It's amazing and by far my favorite film of the year.
Review: The Expendables
Went and saw the Macho-fest film The Expendables last night in a packed theatre. There were some ladies near me that had some of the worst smelling perfume I have ever encountered. It thought I was being poisoned. Terrible. Anyway, the action film is directed by John Rambo and stars Rocky Balboa, Ivan Drago, the Transporter, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Not Jackie Chan. There are also some good cameos by John McClane and John Kimble.
The story follows Stallone and his team as they get hired by Bruce Willis to go to the South American Island of Velena (don't bother googling that because the place is fictitious) to overthrow a dictator and of course kill a lot of dudes and blow shit up.
First and foremost let me just say Sylvester Stallone is my favorite of the 80's action stars. Rambo, hell yeah. Cliffhanger, awesome. Cobra, bad ass. Then there is the The Rocky series. I dedicated a good portion of my thesis film to it including driving to Philadelphia from Rochester to film for it. Rocky is the freaking bees knees. These past few years have been pretty awesome for movies with new installments of Rocky and Rambo. Both of which I really enjoyed as they were both great bookends for their respective series. Now we have The Expendables where Stallone plays an all new character in similar situations.
Sure nothing is really new or fresh about The Expendables but that's not what this movie is about. It's about seeing our favorite action stars together for the first time kicking ass, kicking each-others asses, and taking names. This movie does exactly that. A total throwback to the simplicity of the action movies of yesteryear where we have a problem and a bad ass dude goes and solves it. In this case we have a bunch of bad ass dudes that go solve it. There a some lapses in logic but whatever. Everyone on the film looks like they had a blast making it as it comes through in the final film.
There are some really nice stunts and fight sequences in this film. The fights are freaking brutal. They did a really nice job mixing in the different fighting styles of everyone into a mash up mix track of fighting mayhem with bone crunches as beats and gun shots as notes. It fully satisfies the modern American blood lust syndrome. Again with way too many films in this day and age this movie suffers from too much editing during the fight sequences. I know these dudes are old, but c'mon, stop cutting so much, its annoying.
My biggest gripe about this film is the use of CG Blood effects. I could rant on and on about this but I'll hold back and make this simple point. Unless your film is premiering on YouTube or Vimeo put some cash into your effects budget and use some god damn squibs. Dammit.
Overall it's really a joy to see all these guys kicking ass on the big screen in one movie. It's an entertaining genre film full of nostalgia and heavy hitting fights. This film is really the cinematic equivilant to a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger; you've eaten one before, it's nothing new or revolutionary to the burger world, but it's cooked just right, and the other ingrediants are pretty damn tasty, and it hits the hunger spot damn well. If you like Stallone or any of the other stars go see this film. If you like fighting go see this movie. If you like explosions go see this movie. If you abhor violence don't see this movie.
The story follows Stallone and his team as they get hired by Bruce Willis to go to the South American Island of Velena (don't bother googling that because the place is fictitious) to overthrow a dictator and of course kill a lot of dudes and blow shit up.
First and foremost let me just say Sylvester Stallone is my favorite of the 80's action stars. Rambo, hell yeah. Cliffhanger, awesome. Cobra, bad ass. Then there is the The Rocky series. I dedicated a good portion of my thesis film to it including driving to Philadelphia from Rochester to film for it. Rocky is the freaking bees knees. These past few years have been pretty awesome for movies with new installments of Rocky and Rambo. Both of which I really enjoyed as they were both great bookends for their respective series. Now we have The Expendables where Stallone plays an all new character in similar situations.
Sure nothing is really new or fresh about The Expendables but that's not what this movie is about. It's about seeing our favorite action stars together for the first time kicking ass, kicking each-others asses, and taking names. This movie does exactly that. A total throwback to the simplicity of the action movies of yesteryear where we have a problem and a bad ass dude goes and solves it. In this case we have a bunch of bad ass dudes that go solve it. There a some lapses in logic but whatever. Everyone on the film looks like they had a blast making it as it comes through in the final film.
There are some really nice stunts and fight sequences in this film. The fights are freaking brutal. They did a really nice job mixing in the different fighting styles of everyone into a mash up mix track of fighting mayhem with bone crunches as beats and gun shots as notes. It fully satisfies the modern American blood lust syndrome. Again with way too many films in this day and age this movie suffers from too much editing during the fight sequences. I know these dudes are old, but c'mon, stop cutting so much, its annoying.
My biggest gripe about this film is the use of CG Blood effects. I could rant on and on about this but I'll hold back and make this simple point. Unless your film is premiering on YouTube or Vimeo put some cash into your effects budget and use some god damn squibs. Dammit.
Overall it's really a joy to see all these guys kicking ass on the big screen in one movie. It's an entertaining genre film full of nostalgia and heavy hitting fights. This film is really the cinematic equivilant to a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger; you've eaten one before, it's nothing new or revolutionary to the burger world, but it's cooked just right, and the other ingrediants are pretty damn tasty, and it hits the hunger spot damn well. If you like Stallone or any of the other stars go see this film. If you like fighting go see this movie. If you like explosions go see this movie. If you abhor violence don't see this movie.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Animation Block Party
I went to NYC last weekend and checked out the Animation Block Party Saturday night at the beautiful Brooklyn Academy of Music building. It was pretty wicked fun.
Here are my two favorite films screened:
Here are my two favorite films screened:
Milk Nasty from TJ Fuller on Vimeo.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Review: Inception
Saw that little flick Inception a few weeks back when I was in Los Angeles during my sabbatical.
The film is directed by Christopher Nolan whom many people forget is a Redcoat. Just sayin. It stars one of the many people who died in The Departed, an annoying pregnant teenager, that lady who won the oscar for best Actress and everyone was like "who the fuck is that?" but then she's been in some movies since so people are like "oh yeah, it's that girl, I don't know what her name is, but I think it's that girl", the kid from the third best kids baseball movie of the early 90's (1.The Sandlot, 2.Rookie of the Year), and let us not forget Bronson.
The story follows a dude who goes into other dudes dreams to steal ideas. But then some rich dude wants him and his co-workers to go into some dudes brain to implant an idea. But in order to do that they have to go into dreams inside of dreams, then inside other ones and his ex-wife haunts him through these..... and bullets and explosions of course!!!!!
I saw the 11pm screening on Friday after five consecutive 13 hour shoot days. To say the least I was psychically, mentally and emotionally drained. Barely keeping awake in the waiting line outside the theatre I did not know if I could make it through the entire film. I did. I think.
Initial thoughts after seeing it; I definitely had a good friggin time. Seeing it in IMAX was the way to go. It looked stunning. And the sound, whoah! Punch you in the face. There was applause after a particular scene and at the end of the film, I joined in as I was pretty darn entertained. Perplexed to exactly what the fuck I just saw, but still... entertained.
The scene in particular that received the rousing applause was the hallway fight scene between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and some bad dream security dude. It----was----bad-------asssss. The whole time watching it I was like "wuuuu theeee fuuuuuk!?" and I could feel the same energy from everyone else around me in the theatre without looking around to see their faces. Fantastic movie moment that put a nice big smile on my face afterwards.
Another high point of the film is the gorgeous cinematography by Wally Pfister. There is a great variety, vibrancy, color, and texture used throughout with the lighting that makes every scene a pleasure to watch no matter what's happening. The slow motion shots are wicked and supremely done.
I heard some people saying this is the greatest film ever made and that people won't even make films anymore because this was so good. That is stupid. Take The Dark Night out of your DVD player and update your Netflix Que.
The world created for this film is pretty darn interesting. Being able to go into other peoples dreams is a pretty cool concept. And the way it is presented in this film in a Bond/Bank Robber kinda way is also pretty cool. You get certain movie conventions with a nice fresh added twist that gives you a new dynamic that is fully satisfying to watch.
The problem is a lot of people critical of the film are taking it too seriously and trying to make sense of the world created for the film. The film takes itself very seriously, so why not us? Well... the fact is dreams don't make much sense. It's not an exact science as no one really understands what they are, how they happen, why they happen, and how they work to this day. Thus the physics and realities of how the characters perform what they do in the film don't make much sense, thus trying to make sense of non-sense is utter non-sense really. A lot of gripes can be made about the characters being thin and only there as plot devices and the story being too complicated but the overriding feeling should be "alright, just go with it!". Then you'll be fine. Watch it. Have fun. Repeat if necessary.
A little gripe I have with a lot of movies which this film suffered to as well was the trailers showing all the key scenes in the film. C'mon just stop that. It's annoying and lame.
I recommend this for anyone who enjoys Nolan's previous work, action movies, and films about dreams. Sure it ain't perfect, but nothing is. It still has quite a lot of cool shit going for it cinematically where it's well worth checking out on the big screen, IMAX it if you can.
The film is directed by Christopher Nolan whom many people forget is a Redcoat. Just sayin. It stars one of the many people who died in The Departed, an annoying pregnant teenager, that lady who won the oscar for best Actress and everyone was like "who the fuck is that?" but then she's been in some movies since so people are like "oh yeah, it's that girl, I don't know what her name is, but I think it's that girl", the kid from the third best kids baseball movie of the early 90's (1.The Sandlot, 2.Rookie of the Year), and let us not forget Bronson.
The story follows a dude who goes into other dudes dreams to steal ideas. But then some rich dude wants him and his co-workers to go into some dudes brain to implant an idea. But in order to do that they have to go into dreams inside of dreams, then inside other ones and his ex-wife haunts him through these..... and bullets and explosions of course!!!!!
I saw the 11pm screening on Friday after five consecutive 13 hour shoot days. To say the least I was psychically, mentally and emotionally drained. Barely keeping awake in the waiting line outside the theatre I did not know if I could make it through the entire film. I did. I think.
Initial thoughts after seeing it; I definitely had a good friggin time. Seeing it in IMAX was the way to go. It looked stunning. And the sound, whoah! Punch you in the face. There was applause after a particular scene and at the end of the film, I joined in as I was pretty darn entertained. Perplexed to exactly what the fuck I just saw, but still... entertained.
The scene in particular that received the rousing applause was the hallway fight scene between Joseph Gordon-Levitt and some bad dream security dude. It----was----bad-------asssss. The whole time watching it I was like "wuuuu theeee fuuuuuk!?" and I could feel the same energy from everyone else around me in the theatre without looking around to see their faces. Fantastic movie moment that put a nice big smile on my face afterwards.
Another high point of the film is the gorgeous cinematography by Wally Pfister. There is a great variety, vibrancy, color, and texture used throughout with the lighting that makes every scene a pleasure to watch no matter what's happening. The slow motion shots are wicked and supremely done.
I heard some people saying this is the greatest film ever made and that people won't even make films anymore because this was so good. That is stupid. Take The Dark Night out of your DVD player and update your Netflix Que.
The world created for this film is pretty darn interesting. Being able to go into other peoples dreams is a pretty cool concept. And the way it is presented in this film in a Bond/Bank Robber kinda way is also pretty cool. You get certain movie conventions with a nice fresh added twist that gives you a new dynamic that is fully satisfying to watch.
The problem is a lot of people critical of the film are taking it too seriously and trying to make sense of the world created for the film. The film takes itself very seriously, so why not us? Well... the fact is dreams don't make much sense. It's not an exact science as no one really understands what they are, how they happen, why they happen, and how they work to this day. Thus the physics and realities of how the characters perform what they do in the film don't make much sense, thus trying to make sense of non-sense is utter non-sense really. A lot of gripes can be made about the characters being thin and only there as plot devices and the story being too complicated but the overriding feeling should be "alright, just go with it!". Then you'll be fine. Watch it. Have fun. Repeat if necessary.
A little gripe I have with a lot of movies which this film suffered to as well was the trailers showing all the key scenes in the film. C'mon just stop that. It's annoying and lame.
I recommend this for anyone who enjoys Nolan's previous work, action movies, and films about dreams. Sure it ain't perfect, but nothing is. It still has quite a lot of cool shit going for it cinematically where it's well worth checking out on the big screen, IMAX it if you can.
Apparently I still have videos on YouTube
So I was on the internets..... again, I know, I know. But I found I had some of my freshman work up on my YouTube account I barely use as Vimeo and I've been going steady ever since we met.
Anywho, all of my YouTube videos had their audio stripped from them because of copyright-shmopyright music claims. As I was feeling around the new YouTube features for the first time I found they had this nifty little thinger called AudioSwap where it samples the music from some another sight and it's totally legit. So I put some new tracks some of my old projects.
Anywho, all of my YouTube videos had their audio stripped from them because of copyright-shmopyright music claims. As I was feeling around the new YouTube features for the first time I found they had this nifty little thinger called AudioSwap where it samples the music from some another sight and it's totally legit. So I put some new tracks some of my old projects.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
RIP Delta Boy Smooth
I was making my new resume and searchin around the internets today and found this music video I worked on last summer back in the Roc, then saw that apparently the lead guy Delta Boy Smooth is now dead. He was a cool dude, it was a janky shoot but most of us had a fun time even when the cops came.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Review: Robin Hood
Went and saw Ridley Scott's latest film Robin Hood at a second rate theatre in Pasadena the other night.
The film takes on the origin story of Robin Hood. We start out in France as some English dudes attack some French dudes as Robin and his band of bros decide to ditch Croissant land to go back to Fish and Chips land. On the way back Robin comes across this dying English guy who's last wish is for him to return his sword to his father in Nottingham England. This sets off the "story" of what all happens next.
There is a great mystery to this film. It is loaded with talent on both sides of the camera yet the final product is anything but mediocre. Acting wise we have Oscar winners Russel Crow, Cate Blanchett, and William Hurt. And of course behind the camera we have the illustrious Ridley Scott known for some of the best films made within the past 30 years such as Alien, Blade Runner and Black Hawk Down. Plus you have the iconic Robin Hood story to go from with a 200 million dollar budget. But somewhere along the lines they forgot to get that important little thing called a good script.
The most crucial misstep in the whole picture is the weak story. It's a epic battle film that is simply not compelling and lacks any tension. It is really boggling how this film was actually made. All of the conflicts are easily evaded throughout the film. Not in a cool, "oh i just beat up 30 dudes with swords and i barely broke a sweat, man was that easy", more in a "oh all we had to do was fire some arrows at them from behind a tree, that only took 4 seconds of screen time, that was pretty easy" kinda way. Tension is what makes battles work, are they going to succeed? aren't they? No joke Twilight Eclipse had more tension than this. There seems to be a thread of "rising action" through act II but it barely gets anywhere and it just feels like you are strolling through the park as you watch this film. This fact was most prevalent during the "climactic" battle scene on the sea shore as French ship came to invade. As soon as we saw there was a huge cliff next to the shore where the English archers took their positions anyone who took Warfare 101 knew the battle was won easy as cake. Even without that knowledge the battle was poorly staged and lacked any drama on if Robin and his Englishmen were going to win or not. Bullocks!
The other main problem with the film is the pussy cop out PG-13 battles. This is not Chronicles of Narnia. When someone gets a sword in the face or shot with an arrow they don't just fall down. There is some damn blood. I'm not saying that it should be super gory Japanese Machine Girl style but there should be a level of reality presented in the damage done by these medieval weapons. The key part in showing this is to increase the tension and stakes during the battle as the audience see's "oh wow, this is some serious shit, i hope our hero Robin Hood doesn't get a sword in the face". Thus we connect more with our protagonist and are involved in the heat of the moment that is the battle scene.
Another major problem I thought was the casting of Russel Crowe. At 45 years old it's a bit of a stretch to be at the "beginning" of the Robin Hood mythology. I think the film would have had a great breath of fresh air and energy if they casted someone half his age. Instead we get a barely comprehensible Crowe who grumbles a one note performance through a non existent story arc for the "hero".
I'm even a little pissed I paid 3 dollars to go see this. Not even worth a DVD rental unless you are in love with Russel Crowe or have a hankering for bloodless battle scenes. Just watch Ridley Scott's Gladiator again or his far underrated 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven and make sure it's the extended edition.
The film takes on the origin story of Robin Hood. We start out in France as some English dudes attack some French dudes as Robin and his band of bros decide to ditch Croissant land to go back to Fish and Chips land. On the way back Robin comes across this dying English guy who's last wish is for him to return his sword to his father in Nottingham England. This sets off the "story" of what all happens next.
There is a great mystery to this film. It is loaded with talent on both sides of the camera yet the final product is anything but mediocre. Acting wise we have Oscar winners Russel Crow, Cate Blanchett, and William Hurt. And of course behind the camera we have the illustrious Ridley Scott known for some of the best films made within the past 30 years such as Alien, Blade Runner and Black Hawk Down. Plus you have the iconic Robin Hood story to go from with a 200 million dollar budget. But somewhere along the lines they forgot to get that important little thing called a good script.
The most crucial misstep in the whole picture is the weak story. It's a epic battle film that is simply not compelling and lacks any tension. It is really boggling how this film was actually made. All of the conflicts are easily evaded throughout the film. Not in a cool, "oh i just beat up 30 dudes with swords and i barely broke a sweat, man was that easy", more in a "oh all we had to do was fire some arrows at them from behind a tree, that only took 4 seconds of screen time, that was pretty easy" kinda way. Tension is what makes battles work, are they going to succeed? aren't they? No joke Twilight Eclipse had more tension than this. There seems to be a thread of "rising action" through act II but it barely gets anywhere and it just feels like you are strolling through the park as you watch this film. This fact was most prevalent during the "climactic" battle scene on the sea shore as French ship came to invade. As soon as we saw there was a huge cliff next to the shore where the English archers took their positions anyone who took Warfare 101 knew the battle was won easy as cake. Even without that knowledge the battle was poorly staged and lacked any drama on if Robin and his Englishmen were going to win or not. Bullocks!
The other main problem with the film is the pussy cop out PG-13 battles. This is not Chronicles of Narnia. When someone gets a sword in the face or shot with an arrow they don't just fall down. There is some damn blood. I'm not saying that it should be super gory Japanese Machine Girl style but there should be a level of reality presented in the damage done by these medieval weapons. The key part in showing this is to increase the tension and stakes during the battle as the audience see's "oh wow, this is some serious shit, i hope our hero Robin Hood doesn't get a sword in the face". Thus we connect more with our protagonist and are involved in the heat of the moment that is the battle scene.
Another major problem I thought was the casting of Russel Crowe. At 45 years old it's a bit of a stretch to be at the "beginning" of the Robin Hood mythology. I think the film would have had a great breath of fresh air and energy if they casted someone half his age. Instead we get a barely comprehensible Crowe who grumbles a one note performance through a non existent story arc for the "hero".
I'm even a little pissed I paid 3 dollars to go see this. Not even worth a DVD rental unless you are in love with Russel Crowe or have a hankering for bloodless battle scenes. Just watch Ridley Scott's Gladiator again or his far underrated 2005 film Kingdom of Heaven and make sure it's the extended edition.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Review: Toy Story 3
I saw Toy Story 3 last week. Like you've probably heard from everyone else who has seen it and other reviews, it's fantastic.
If you havn't seen it already. Get off the computer, and go.
What really surprised me about this movie was how intense it got during the climax. I was seriously scared for the main characters more than I can remember for any other movie in recent history live action and animation. A truly memorable sequence, to cap off a truly great film.
I'll keep it short as mostly everything has already been said about it. Recommended for anyone with a beating heart.
**Also seeing it in 3D is not necessary at all, especially if you already wear glasses and it just becomes wicked uncomfortable to wear both at the same time.
If you havn't seen it already. Get off the computer, and go.
What really surprised me about this movie was how intense it got during the climax. I was seriously scared for the main characters more than I can remember for any other movie in recent history live action and animation. A truly memorable sequence, to cap off a truly great film.
I'll keep it short as mostly everything has already been said about it. Recommended for anyone with a beating heart.
**Also seeing it in 3D is not necessary at all, especially if you already wear glasses and it just becomes wicked uncomfortable to wear both at the same time.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Review: The A-Team
Went and saw the newest TV Show to movie adaptation this past weekend, The A-Team. Directed by Joe Carnahan of Narc and Smokin Aces fame the film follows the exploits of an Army Rangers Alpha Team consisting of Liam "Qui-Gon Jinn" Neeson as John "Hannibal" Smith, Bradley "The Hangover" Cooper as Templeton "Faceman" Peck, Sharlto "District 9" Copley as James "Howling Mad" Murdock and MMA fighter Quinton "Rampage" Jackson as Bosco B.A. Barucus. The best thing is the film has more explosions than quotation marks.
The film begins with an opening sequence that brings the team together for the first time. We are then thrust years later into the Iraq War as the American troops are in the last days of withdrawal from the country. After one last Iraq mission our guys get set up for a crime they didn't commit and end up stripped of their ranking and thrown into separate jails. Now they gotta break out, clear their innocence, uncover the truth and take down the bad guys. There is no option B.
First and foremost let me just say this was the funnest time I've had at the movies this year by far. This film was an absolute blast from beginning to end. Pure summer entertainment.
One of the great things about the film is it's level of believable ridiculousness within the action scenes. The shit that goes down in the movie is nuts. The film takes suspension of disbelief and rides the line the entire time. It's just real enough where in the moment you don't second guess it at all.... slowing down a falling tank by shooting the cannon down towards the ground...sure why not, totally could work. Doing this really creates some original and amazing sequences that are really fun and purely cinematic to watch.
The other great thing about the film is the performances across the board especially by Liam, Bradley, Sharlto and Rampage. Their chemistry and individual character traits are really entertaining to watch the whole time.
I don't have any complaints. The film knew what it was and delivered.
I really recommend this movie to everyone. An incredibly fun ride from start to finish The A-Team is the most entertaining film I've seen this year.
The film begins with an opening sequence that brings the team together for the first time. We are then thrust years later into the Iraq War as the American troops are in the last days of withdrawal from the country. After one last Iraq mission our guys get set up for a crime they didn't commit and end up stripped of their ranking and thrown into separate jails. Now they gotta break out, clear their innocence, uncover the truth and take down the bad guys. There is no option B.
First and foremost let me just say this was the funnest time I've had at the movies this year by far. This film was an absolute blast from beginning to end. Pure summer entertainment.
One of the great things about the film is it's level of believable ridiculousness within the action scenes. The shit that goes down in the movie is nuts. The film takes suspension of disbelief and rides the line the entire time. It's just real enough where in the moment you don't second guess it at all.... slowing down a falling tank by shooting the cannon down towards the ground...sure why not, totally could work. Doing this really creates some original and amazing sequences that are really fun and purely cinematic to watch.
The other great thing about the film is the performances across the board especially by Liam, Bradley, Sharlto and Rampage. Their chemistry and individual character traits are really entertaining to watch the whole time.
I don't have any complaints. The film knew what it was and delivered.
I really recommend this movie to everyone. An incredibly fun ride from start to finish The A-Team is the most entertaining film I've seen this year.
Monday, June 14, 2010
TLA: INTRO SEQUENCE
Finally got to compressing and uploading the intro sequence to my thesis up on the Vimeo. Checkedy Check it out.....
The whole thing is to come soooooooooon, just gotta work out some sound bugs.
The Last Actor: The Intro Sequence from Daniel Alexander on Vimeo.
The whole thing is to come soooooooooon, just gotta work out some sound bugs.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Review: The End of Suburbia
Watched another documentary concerning peak oil today. Directed by Gregory Greene, The End of Suburbia: Oil Depletion and the Collapse of the American Dream (catchy title if I've ever heard one) focuses much more on the direct effect of peak oil and dwindling resources upon the massive suburban sprawls of America. Here is the trailer:
I found out about this documentary as I was watching this video on Vimeo about Transition Towns. In the 20 min video a professor mentioned that he showed his students this 2004 documentary which sparked them to pursuing more information on how to better suit a community for the future transition away from oil dependency.
Opposed to Collapse this documentary has a more straight forward style including interviews from many experts and most importantly focusing entirely on the issue at hand and not the characters of the people presenting it. It's not a breakthrough documentary stylistically by any hand but it covers the issue in a well paced informative manner. One of the interviewees who lends their voice is none other but Michael Ruppert.
The film clearly shows how the American Suburban lifestyle is wasteful, inefficient, unsustainable, and a completely retarded setup that has absolutely no future. All the while utilizing 50's era footage for ironic effect. Peak Oil is here if we like it or not. There are no quick and easy fixes. And most importantly we can't rely on the federal government or main stream media to guide us. The sooner one realizes there is a problem and that we can't all keep on living life the way we have been the sooner we can adapt into a new future. This film presents those statements in a well constructed manner as well. Most importantly unlike Collapse this film goes into what we can do as individuals and as community members to help better the transition into a non-oil dependent society. The main solution for a better future is more community centered living with all local bought and produced food, goods and services. Again it's addressed that this is not going to be solved overnight but must be met with a strong will of community members to evolve with the changing world.
This is a must watch documentary for anyone interested in having a better future for yourself, your loved ones, and your community.
Here is the main website for Transition Towns which already have a big following in the UK and Ireland but unfortunately haven't really caught on as much as it should in America........yet:
http://www.transitionnetwork.org/
There is really a ton of awesome information on the site that I urge you to check out and share with others. One of the best links is this downloadable 50 page pdf document that is really a must read.
Transition Initiative Primer
Personally I believe this is just the beginning to a better way of life. As Mr. Dylan said: The Times They Are A-Changin.
I found out about this documentary as I was watching this video on Vimeo about Transition Towns. In the 20 min video a professor mentioned that he showed his students this 2004 documentary which sparked them to pursuing more information on how to better suit a community for the future transition away from oil dependency.
Opposed to Collapse this documentary has a more straight forward style including interviews from many experts and most importantly focusing entirely on the issue at hand and not the characters of the people presenting it. It's not a breakthrough documentary stylistically by any hand but it covers the issue in a well paced informative manner. One of the interviewees who lends their voice is none other but Michael Ruppert.
The film clearly shows how the American Suburban lifestyle is wasteful, inefficient, unsustainable, and a completely retarded setup that has absolutely no future. All the while utilizing 50's era footage for ironic effect. Peak Oil is here if we like it or not. There are no quick and easy fixes. And most importantly we can't rely on the federal government or main stream media to guide us. The sooner one realizes there is a problem and that we can't all keep on living life the way we have been the sooner we can adapt into a new future. This film presents those statements in a well constructed manner as well. Most importantly unlike Collapse this film goes into what we can do as individuals and as community members to help better the transition into a non-oil dependent society. The main solution for a better future is more community centered living with all local bought and produced food, goods and services. Again it's addressed that this is not going to be solved overnight but must be met with a strong will of community members to evolve with the changing world.
This is a must watch documentary for anyone interested in having a better future for yourself, your loved ones, and your community.
Here is the main website for Transition Towns which already have a big following in the UK and Ireland but unfortunately haven't really caught on as much as it should in America........yet:
http://www.transitionnetwork.org/
There is really a ton of awesome information on the site that I urge you to check out and share with others. One of the best links is this downloadable 50 page pdf document that is really a must read.
Transition Initiative Primer
Personally I believe this is just the beginning to a better way of life. As Mr. Dylan said: The Times They Are A-Changin.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Review: Collapse
Watched the documentary feature Collapse last night. The film is directed by Chris Smith who is most famous for making my all time favorite documentary American Movie. If you are a filmmaker, or a lover of films American Movie is a must watch, and one of the funniest films I've ever seen. Anyways...Collapse, check out the trailer to get an idea of what's happening.
As seen in the trailer the entire film is an interview in a dark basement with one man with sprinkled archival footage. That man is Michael Ruppert and unlike American Movie, Collapse is not a comedy, unless you have a very deep dark sense of humor. Some may find this movie incredibly boring or annoyingly one sided, but I'm just me and I found it quite reaffirming.
I've thought about the end of modern civilization for a long time in my short life. I can remember at a very early age putting two and two together in the facts of the gigantic rise in human population and our earths dwindling resources and that something radical is going to happen in the near future. This film outlines all of that clearly through Mr. Ruppert's insights. The major thing what the film doesn't do is back up most of his claims through evidence. While most of it is pretty common sense there was definitely room for supporting some of his statements. Mr. Ruppert says everything with such confidence and matter of fact speaking that most of the time you don't even notice or care that his statements aren't being backed up. I'll admit for my case it was more a matter of preaching to the choir, so I'd be interested to see what other people thought.
How the film is shot really enforces the subject matter. It's stark, dark, and ominous. Like a man hiding in a bomb shelter the interview has no sunlight or any other objects in the room. He is alone with only the directors voice off screen moving him along at some points. The slow dolly moves really draws you in as well.
Collapse has a double meaning in this film. As it's really more of a character study in the collapse of this chain smoking lonely man and his obsessive passion. By the end of the film you feel very sorry for him. Here's a guy who all he has is his dog and thoughts of doom. That's enough to drive anyone mad.
Overall it's a very interesting watch and I recommend it to everyone.
Official Website
I think it is important to note a major metaphor used in the film. It centers on the sinking of the Titanic. (the sinking of civilization...whoah) There are three kinds of people on the ship:
1: The deer in the headlights people who are running around freaked out confused and looking for direction.
2: The people who acknowledge the problem and try to find a solution.
3: The people who think the ship is unsinkable and go back to the bar.
What kind of person are you?
Do you're own research and make your own conclusions.
As seen in the trailer the entire film is an interview in a dark basement with one man with sprinkled archival footage. That man is Michael Ruppert and unlike American Movie, Collapse is not a comedy, unless you have a very deep dark sense of humor. Some may find this movie incredibly boring or annoyingly one sided, but I'm just me and I found it quite reaffirming.
I've thought about the end of modern civilization for a long time in my short life. I can remember at a very early age putting two and two together in the facts of the gigantic rise in human population and our earths dwindling resources and that something radical is going to happen in the near future. This film outlines all of that clearly through Mr. Ruppert's insights. The major thing what the film doesn't do is back up most of his claims through evidence. While most of it is pretty common sense there was definitely room for supporting some of his statements. Mr. Ruppert says everything with such confidence and matter of fact speaking that most of the time you don't even notice or care that his statements aren't being backed up. I'll admit for my case it was more a matter of preaching to the choir, so I'd be interested to see what other people thought.
How the film is shot really enforces the subject matter. It's stark, dark, and ominous. Like a man hiding in a bomb shelter the interview has no sunlight or any other objects in the room. He is alone with only the directors voice off screen moving him along at some points. The slow dolly moves really draws you in as well.
Collapse has a double meaning in this film. As it's really more of a character study in the collapse of this chain smoking lonely man and his obsessive passion. By the end of the film you feel very sorry for him. Here's a guy who all he has is his dog and thoughts of doom. That's enough to drive anyone mad.
Overall it's a very interesting watch and I recommend it to everyone.
Official Website
I think it is important to note a major metaphor used in the film. It centers on the sinking of the Titanic. (the sinking of civilization...whoah) There are three kinds of people on the ship:
1: The deer in the headlights people who are running around freaked out confused and looking for direction.
2: The people who acknowledge the problem and try to find a solution.
3: The people who think the ship is unsinkable and go back to the bar.
What kind of person are you?
Do you're own research and make your own conclusions.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Review: Splice
Went out to The Grove and saw the new film Splice the other night. The film is directed by Vincenzo Natali. No that's not a bad guy from a James Bond movie, its a director from Detroit Michigan who made the 1997 film Cube (I haven't seen it yet but heard its pretty cool). Splice stars one of my favorite actors Adrien Brody who I'm wicked pumped to see next month in Nimrod Antal's Predators and Sarah Polley who was in one of the best horror remakes of all time, Zach Snyder's Dawn of the Dead.
The film centers on married couple of Brody and Polly who are bio chemists working. As the title infers, they are working on splicing, gene splicing. They create a hybrid creature that ages fast and of course shit hits the fan. It's kinda like Species but without the whole extra terrestrial element.
This was a pretty damn entertaining flick. Great performances from the two leads, good use of a mixture of practical and computer effects, well shot, and it went places I was not expecting at all. Really amazing scenes and sequences that just plain worked incredibly well. The tone of the film was also well laid out, it was serious but still left room for obvious comedy for the ridiculousness of what was happening. What made Splice so cool was that it is essentially a monster movie but risen to a much higher level by running themes of parenthood, child raising, plus a whole slew of ethical concerns mixed in.
Unlike most Hollywood films this is a very intimate story with only five speaking roles. Again this really raises the "monster movie" level of the film as it is a straight up character piece between the husband and wife and how they separately deal with raising their "child", the hybrid named Dren. The evolution of Dren is also really well done on an effects level and emotional level. Effects wise there are no flourishes as everything is used to continue the story and sell the character of Dren. You totally believe that this hybrid is a living breathing creature that totally existed unlike obvious CG characters plaguing our screens. On an emotional level there is a great change from creature to character as Dren having us connect with her plight.
Not to say there are no flaws of the film as there some of the dialog was a little weak. This was apparent especially in how Sarah Polley's character was written. Some of the things she said were to unrealistic and matter of fact, I understand why they did it to move the story along and keep it brief, but a couple lines just didn't work at all, but again, that's just me nitpicking. There character of the lab boss was pretty one dimensional which was annoying. Adding some depth to his character would have rounded out the cast a lot better. I also think the end could have taken the concept a little farther than it ended up doing.
This film also had one of the biggest "wtf" moments I have ever seen in a wide release film. (Lars Von Trier's Antichrist wins for all films) I really don't want to spoil what it is, so I won't even say. All I'll say is that I'm really glad that what happened, happened. It had great reactions from the rest of the crowd and it was equally as fun just seeing how other people reacted. I also really appreciate it in that it dared to do something different which is not done enough these days in main stream cinema.
Overall I really enjoyed Splice and would recommend it to anyone who likes Science Fiction and Horror films.
The film centers on married couple of Brody and Polly who are bio chemists working. As the title infers, they are working on splicing, gene splicing. They create a hybrid creature that ages fast and of course shit hits the fan. It's kinda like Species but without the whole extra terrestrial element.
This was a pretty damn entertaining flick. Great performances from the two leads, good use of a mixture of practical and computer effects, well shot, and it went places I was not expecting at all. Really amazing scenes and sequences that just plain worked incredibly well. The tone of the film was also well laid out, it was serious but still left room for obvious comedy for the ridiculousness of what was happening. What made Splice so cool was that it is essentially a monster movie but risen to a much higher level by running themes of parenthood, child raising, plus a whole slew of ethical concerns mixed in.
Unlike most Hollywood films this is a very intimate story with only five speaking roles. Again this really raises the "monster movie" level of the film as it is a straight up character piece between the husband and wife and how they separately deal with raising their "child", the hybrid named Dren. The evolution of Dren is also really well done on an effects level and emotional level. Effects wise there are no flourishes as everything is used to continue the story and sell the character of Dren. You totally believe that this hybrid is a living breathing creature that totally existed unlike obvious CG characters plaguing our screens. On an emotional level there is a great change from creature to character as Dren having us connect with her plight.
Not to say there are no flaws of the film as there some of the dialog was a little weak. This was apparent especially in how Sarah Polley's character was written. Some of the things she said were to unrealistic and matter of fact, I understand why they did it to move the story along and keep it brief, but a couple lines just didn't work at all, but again, that's just me nitpicking. There character of the lab boss was pretty one dimensional which was annoying. Adding some depth to his character would have rounded out the cast a lot better. I also think the end could have taken the concept a little farther than it ended up doing.
This film also had one of the biggest "wtf" moments I have ever seen in a wide release film. (Lars Von Trier's Antichrist wins for all films) I really don't want to spoil what it is, so I won't even say. All I'll say is that I'm really glad that what happened, happened. It had great reactions from the rest of the crowd and it was equally as fun just seeing how other people reacted. I also really appreciate it in that it dared to do something different which is not done enough these days in main stream cinema.
Overall I really enjoyed Splice and would recommend it to anyone who likes Science Fiction and Horror films.
Review: Prince of Persia
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is the newest Video Game to Movie adaptation in theaters brought to you by the Mouse House and Mr. Jerry Explosion Meister Bruckheimer. The film is helmed by British director Mike Newell who is famous for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Mona Lisa Smile and Four Weddings and A Funeral.
Like the video game the film is set amongst the height of the beautiful and vibrant Persian Empire. The story follows Donnie Darko as he is framed for his fathers murder and goes on a journey to prove his innocence all the while discovering the secrets of the Dagger and Sands of Time. Swords, ostriches, white chicks, Gandhi and lots of sand ensue.
First of all I was a big fan of the Prince of Persia video games. I remember playing the original 2D computer game when I was a kid at my friends house. It was sick as hell, you were just this little dude trapped in a dungeon and you had to jump over spikes and watch out for booby traps and sometimes clash swords with other dudes. It rocked. When I heard they were updating the game for the Play Station I was psyched. And when I finally played it, it was incredible. It had not only amazing art direction but revolutionary one of a kind combat and platforming action that raised the bar for all other action plat-formers to come. And by far the best aspect of the whole game was, IT WAS FUN, as a video game should be. The two sequels of that game were equally as entertaining. Thus even since the original 2D game I've yearned for a Prince of Persia film, and now it exists....
I really wish I could have loved this film. It had so much potential to be mad awesome. It's like the kid with the really cool parents but he's just kinda lame. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the movie, it kept my interest for most of the time but never rose to a level of "wow" or "that....was....awesome" that i was expecting. Sure my expectations may be a little higher than most but with a few easy changes this film would have been much better.
Change 1- My biggest gripe about the entire film was the Parkour scenes. Again like the video game I love Parkour and when its used well in films, such as Casino Royale and the French films District B13 and Yamakasi, but here it's completely ruined by the editing much like the Italian rooftop chase in Quantum of Solace. They even had the founder of parkour David Belle as the coordinator for these sequences, and they totally fuck it all up with quick cut editing and stupid jittery time remapping. Seriously, you have amazing stunt people and Jake who has been training for these sequences...let them do what they do, AND SHOW IT! STOP CUTTING! It ruins the spectacle of these great stunts because the audience looses their sense of space and direction within the frame. This just pissed me off, because again I was looking forward to sweet Parkour stunts on a grand scale but senselessly it was all destroyed by retarded editing. If you haven't seen District B-13 go check it out ASAP and see the master David Belle in action.
Change 1.5- With the extreme architecture set up for the cities they visited in the film the Parkour action scenes also could have been much more varied and interesting. Just look at all the different levels, spires, windows and everything in the city behind Jake!
Tons of possibilities to use the environment and location to do crazy Parkour stunts. But why can't they, oh yeah, because it's all fake in a damn computer. YET! 200million dollar budget they could have made some better stuff then running on top of adobe huts and markets. C'mon. Granted the first scene when Dastan climbed up the castle wall using a tree log then arrows was interesting, the rest of the film did not reach that level of creativity in the action. Which again is a major shame based on the extreme potential for what the game set up.
Change 2- The writing hurt the believability of Prince Dastan. I really do like Jake Gyllenhaal and think he's one of the best young actors around. He does a fair job in the film but the entire time I never believed him to be Prince Dastan, he was always just a buff Jake jumping around fighting people. I don't think this is the fault of Jake as an actor but simply the writing of the Character of Dastan was not very compelling in the first place. Jake just doesn't have much to work with.
Change 3- The whole white washing issue is major in the film. I really didn't mind it so much for Jake's part but for Princess Tamina played by Gemma Arterton it really bugged me. Jake could possibly pass as Persian if you squinted your eyes, this girl just looks so out of place it is ridiculous, even with the huge amount of fake bronzer put on her for some scenes. There are plenty of gorgeous Persian and Middle Eastern girls they could have chosen that would have made the film much more authentic. Yes I understand this is a fantasy film, but c'mon, give a young Middle Eastern girl a shot at the big time, not some whispy voiced English chick who likes old dudes (she just got married in RL to some 37 year old italian guy, she's 24, c'mon i'm 23 and never got a chance :/ ) LAME LAME LAME The other main actor who looked totally out of place was Jakes brother Tus played by English dude Richard Coyle. Even though Jake was suppose to be the adopted one this guy looked it more. Again, seriously, this is Prince of Persia, not Braveheart, go back home and eat your fish and chips. It's actually pretty sad we are still at this point in mainstream cinema that ethnic characters are still given to white folks. It's 2010. Get with the program. -She doesn't fool Bond-
Change 4- The "mystery" surrounding who was the real killer of Dastans father was stupid. Plain stupid. We all knew it was his uncle Gandhi from the trailers, and even the posters give it away in his ominous stare. Make him the clear and present antagonist the entire film so we don't have to have this "invasion based on information about harboring weapons of mass destruction". Yeah that allegory was also stupid. The more I think about this movie the more I don't like it.
Alright, as for the things it did well. There were some really great shots and cinematography of the desert and mountainous areas. The costumes for the most part were good. The music wasn't actually as grand as it should have been I felt. The visual effects of the cities were really well done as was the effects of the use of the Sands of Time.
Overall, it held my attention for a couple hours, but don't go into it with any hopes. Really don't take my harsh words to much to heart since my expectations were so high. If you're down for a classic adventure with a lot of flaws and have an extra ten bucks lying around go, kick back, relax, eat some Sour Patch kids and turn your brain off.
I actually would like to see a sequel to this film in hopes that they would make those necessary changes in crafting a far better film. We shall see....
Like the video game the film is set amongst the height of the beautiful and vibrant Persian Empire. The story follows Donnie Darko as he is framed for his fathers murder and goes on a journey to prove his innocence all the while discovering the secrets of the Dagger and Sands of Time. Swords, ostriches, white chicks, Gandhi and lots of sand ensue.
First of all I was a big fan of the Prince of Persia video games. I remember playing the original 2D computer game when I was a kid at my friends house. It was sick as hell, you were just this little dude trapped in a dungeon and you had to jump over spikes and watch out for booby traps and sometimes clash swords with other dudes. It rocked. When I heard they were updating the game for the Play Station I was psyched. And when I finally played it, it was incredible. It had not only amazing art direction but revolutionary one of a kind combat and platforming action that raised the bar for all other action plat-formers to come. And by far the best aspect of the whole game was, IT WAS FUN, as a video game should be. The two sequels of that game were equally as entertaining. Thus even since the original 2D game I've yearned for a Prince of Persia film, and now it exists....
I really wish I could have loved this film. It had so much potential to be mad awesome. It's like the kid with the really cool parents but he's just kinda lame. Don't get me wrong, I don't hate the movie, it kept my interest for most of the time but never rose to a level of "wow" or "that....was....awesome" that i was expecting. Sure my expectations may be a little higher than most but with a few easy changes this film would have been much better.
Change 1- My biggest gripe about the entire film was the Parkour scenes. Again like the video game I love Parkour and when its used well in films, such as Casino Royale and the French films District B13 and Yamakasi, but here it's completely ruined by the editing much like the Italian rooftop chase in Quantum of Solace. They even had the founder of parkour David Belle as the coordinator for these sequences, and they totally fuck it all up with quick cut editing and stupid jittery time remapping. Seriously, you have amazing stunt people and Jake who has been training for these sequences...let them do what they do, AND SHOW IT! STOP CUTTING! It ruins the spectacle of these great stunts because the audience looses their sense of space and direction within the frame. This just pissed me off, because again I was looking forward to sweet Parkour stunts on a grand scale but senselessly it was all destroyed by retarded editing. If you haven't seen District B-13 go check it out ASAP and see the master David Belle in action.
Change 1.5- With the extreme architecture set up for the cities they visited in the film the Parkour action scenes also could have been much more varied and interesting. Just look at all the different levels, spires, windows and everything in the city behind Jake!
Tons of possibilities to use the environment and location to do crazy Parkour stunts. But why can't they, oh yeah, because it's all fake in a damn computer. YET! 200million dollar budget they could have made some better stuff then running on top of adobe huts and markets. C'mon. Granted the first scene when Dastan climbed up the castle wall using a tree log then arrows was interesting, the rest of the film did not reach that level of creativity in the action. Which again is a major shame based on the extreme potential for what the game set up.
Change 2- The writing hurt the believability of Prince Dastan. I really do like Jake Gyllenhaal and think he's one of the best young actors around. He does a fair job in the film but the entire time I never believed him to be Prince Dastan, he was always just a buff Jake jumping around fighting people. I don't think this is the fault of Jake as an actor but simply the writing of the Character of Dastan was not very compelling in the first place. Jake just doesn't have much to work with.
Change 3- The whole white washing issue is major in the film. I really didn't mind it so much for Jake's part but for Princess Tamina played by Gemma Arterton it really bugged me. Jake could possibly pass as Persian if you squinted your eyes, this girl just looks so out of place it is ridiculous, even with the huge amount of fake bronzer put on her for some scenes. There are plenty of gorgeous Persian and Middle Eastern girls they could have chosen that would have made the film much more authentic. Yes I understand this is a fantasy film, but c'mon, give a young Middle Eastern girl a shot at the big time, not some whispy voiced English chick who likes old dudes (she just got married in RL to some 37 year old italian guy, she's 24, c'mon i'm 23 and never got a chance :/ ) LAME LAME LAME The other main actor who looked totally out of place was Jakes brother Tus played by English dude Richard Coyle. Even though Jake was suppose to be the adopted one this guy looked it more. Again, seriously, this is Prince of Persia, not Braveheart, go back home and eat your fish and chips. It's actually pretty sad we are still at this point in mainstream cinema that ethnic characters are still given to white folks. It's 2010. Get with the program. -She doesn't fool Bond-
Change 4- The "mystery" surrounding who was the real killer of Dastans father was stupid. Plain stupid. We all knew it was his uncle Gandhi from the trailers, and even the posters give it away in his ominous stare. Make him the clear and present antagonist the entire film so we don't have to have this "invasion based on information about harboring weapons of mass destruction". Yeah that allegory was also stupid. The more I think about this movie the more I don't like it.
Alright, as for the things it did well. There were some really great shots and cinematography of the desert and mountainous areas. The costumes for the most part were good. The music wasn't actually as grand as it should have been I felt. The visual effects of the cities were really well done as was the effects of the use of the Sands of Time.
Overall, it held my attention for a couple hours, but don't go into it with any hopes. Really don't take my harsh words to much to heart since my expectations were so high. If you're down for a classic adventure with a lot of flaws and have an extra ten bucks lying around go, kick back, relax, eat some Sour Patch kids and turn your brain off.
I actually would like to see a sequel to this film in hopes that they would make those necessary changes in crafting a far better film. We shall see....
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